Just two weeks ago Cristiano Ronaldo vowed to make a change. His petulant decision to refuse to come on against Tottenham Hotspur in the Premier League while the Reds enjoyed one of their best performances of the season, was hugely disappointing.
For Erik ten Hag it was the straw that broke the camel's back. Ronaldo was banished from first-team training and did not travel with the squad to face Chelsea. In the aftermath of the controversy it appeared that the Portuguese star might have learnt his lesson.
Taking to Instagram, Ronaldo went for the cap-in-hand approach, apologising to the fanbase: "I started very young, the older and most experienced players examples were always very important to me.
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"Therefore, later on, I’ve always tried to set the example myself for the youngsters that grew in all the teams that I’ve represented. Unfortunately that’s not always possible and sometimes the heat of the moment gets the best of us.
"Right now, I just feel that I have to keep working hard in Carrington, support my teammates and be ready for everything in any given game." Ronaldo was soon welcomed back into the fold and he has been entrusted while the Reds suffer with a striker injury crisis.
But do not let the heartwarming photos with a beaming Alejandro Garnacho fool you, Ronaldo does not seem to have taken his own advice to become an example for the younger generation. The 37-year-old was given the captain's armband in the absence of Harry Maguire and Bruno Fernandes vs Aston Villa.
However, his performance was anonymous and his most noteworthy contribution was a bizarre coming-together with Tyrone Mings. While Maguire and Fernandes, often to the former's detriment, would face the music from the media following a defeat, Ronaldo was nowhere to be seen.
David de Gea, who was looked over by Ten Hag to take the armband, fronted up to face the press after his horror show at Brentford in August. No such noble move was forthcoming from Ronaldo though.
This decision has led to criticism from Gary Neville who told The Overlap : "He [Ronaldo] went out as the captain of Manchester United and the team lost. Your job is to speak at the end of the match.
"I’ve been there in that position. If you win, the player who scored the goal or the star man goes out and speaks. If you lose, it’s your goalkeeper, it’s your centre-back or it’s your captain.
"Why did we not hear from him? He should have been there to say: 'This is what we did wrong today, we’re going to work hard for next week and we’re going to be ready for the next game.'"
United would be a lot stronger if Ronaldo was on side and helping the cause but it now seems evident that he is not interested in that. A good World Cup for the Portuguese ace may convince a Champions League team to take a stab at him in January leading to a fresh start both sides desperately need.
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