MANCHESTER United star Cristiano Ronaldo looked dejected as he arrived at Carrington the morning after their 6-3 thumping in the derby.
The Red Devils were humiliated by Manchester City on Sunday following hat-tricks from Phil Foden and Erling Haaland.
Remarkably, Ronaldo was left on the bench by Erik ten Hag despite United trailing 4-0 at the break.
The Dutchman revealed that he decided against bringing on the 37-year-old out of ‘respect’ to his career.
Ten Hag’s shock decision ended up paying off after Anthony Martial marked his return to action with two goals late on, which made the scoreline slightly more respectable.
Nevertheless, Ronaldo, along with teammates Marcus Rashford and Harry Maguire, looked glum-faced as he drove into training less than 24 hours after he was overlooked by Ten Hag.
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Ten Hag’s decision to leave Ronaldo on the bench raises further doubts over his Old Trafford future.
Having been strongly linked with a summer exit, the Portugal international has started just one Premier League game this season.
And the ex-Real Madrid star has now played just 80 minutes across United’s last five league fixtures.
Ronaldo could get some much-needed minutes in the tank against Cypriot outfit Omonia Nicosia in the Europa League on Thursday.
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He’ll be hoping to get back in the goals and catch Ten Hag’s eye ahead of Sunday’s trip to Everton.
But his snub at the Etihad Stadium continued what has been a frustrating start to the season.
Man Utd icon Roy Keane blasted his former club for being “disrespectful” given Ronaldo’s status as a legend of the game.
Speaking on Sky Sports, he said: “I think Man United are showing disrespect to Ronaldo. I think he should have been let go before the [closing] of the window.
“Okay, you’re the manager, you need options but you don’t hold onto Ronaldo to sit on the bench. He’s one of the greatest players ever.
“He’s played him in one or two European games. It’s just going to get uglier as the season goes on.
“If he’s sitting on the bench for United, week in, week out it’s just going to get uglier. I think United have shown nothing but disrespect to Ronaldo.”
Source: Soccer - thesun.co.uk
