Manchester United midfielder Fred admits he was “surprised” by Cristiano Ronaldo’s early exit against Tottenham last month.
The Brazilian stopped short of criticising the superstar, saying Ronaldo’s frustration was “normal” and “part of football” before describing how he was glad that the situation had worked out for all parties.
Ronaldo came back from being dropped against Chelsea following his early exit against Spurs by scoring in the 3-0 win over FC Sheriff before assisting Alejandro Garnacho ’s goal in the 1-0 triumph away at Real Sociedad on Thursday.
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When Fred, who scored in the 2-0 Tottenham win, was asked if he saw Ronaldo walk down the tunnel before full-time, he told TNT Sports : “I didn’t. I was on the pitch there. You end up getting focused, you don’t even see it.
“Turned out I saw it later on the news. I was even surprised when I saw it, but it happens.” Fred, who has started just four league games this season, said he sympathised with Ronaldo’s angst over his lack of game time but hopes he can put it behind him and add to his three-goal tally this season.
He added: “Dude, it’s hard. Everyone deals in some way. It’s obvious that everyone wants to be on the pitch, they want to play to help the team.
“So when you end up not playing, you get frustrated. This is normal, it has happened to him, it has happened to me, to someone else. I think that’s part of football.”
He continued: “But I think it stayed there, we talked there, they had their conversation, he and Erik ten Hag. The important thing is that everything is ok. He scored again too, which is important, I hope he can keep scoring and have a great season at United.”
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