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    Man Utd ‘make contact with club legend Edwin van der Sar to return as director of football’ after Ajax success

    MANCHESTER UNITED have reportedly contacted Edwin van der Sar over a return to the club as director of football.The two-time Champions League-winning keeper, 51, is currently chief executive at Ajax.
    Ajax chief Edwin van der Sar has been ‘contacted’ by Man Utd about being director of footballCredit: Getty
    He could now reunite with Erik ten Hag at Old TraffordCredit: Getty
    He worked alongside now United boss Erik ten Hag in Amsterdam and has received glowing reports for the job he has done with the Dutch giants.
    When Ed Woodward left his role as executive vice-chairman at Old Trafford at the end of the year, Van der Sar was been linked with a return to Manchester.
    There were discussions ‘a couple of years ago’ too about coming in as director of football.
    Now as United continue to restructure their hierarchy, a fresh claim says they have been in talks with their former goalie about the role.
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    Voetbal Primeur claims that United “contacted” Van der Sar last week.
    They also report that it is not the first time that the Premier League side have “knocked on the door” for him.
    Ajax also informed him of United’s interest two years ago, however, Van der Sar did not want to leave Ajax at the time.
    Now the Eredivisie side are making plans to replace him should he opt to depart and link up with Ten Hag at his old employers.
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    This report also states that Ajax are lining-up their legendary ex-defender Danny Blind, father of ex-United ace Daley Blind, to replace him.
    The Red Devils began their major overhaul at the club by appointing John Murtough as their first football director last year.

    And former player Darren Fletcher was also given a new role of technical director.
    When quizzed on links with United previously, Van der Sar threw the door open to a switch by claiming the Red Devils and Ajax are the only two clubs that he could work for.
    He said: “The pressure is different and I won’t work at a club where I don’t have a feeling.
    “I could only do this for Ajax or United. I would not work for any other clubs.” More

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    Cristiano Ronaldo could have played last game for Man Utd with Ten Hag wanting him GONE and outcast facing £720k fine

    FURIOUS Erik ten Hag wants Cristiano Ronaldo out of Manchester United after sensationally axing him from his squad.The United legend has almost certainly played his last game for the club after he REFUSED to come on as a late substitute in Wednesday’s 2-0 win over Spurs.
    Cristiano Ronaldo could have played his last game for Man UtdCredit: Rex
    Erik ten Hag wants the troublemaker gone after his Spurs stropCredit: EPA
    Ronaldo, 37, stormed down the tunnel five minutes before the final whistle and left Old Trafford while his team-mates were still celebrating on the pitch.
    Boss Ten Hag has now lost patience and come down hard on the veteran striker, who:

    Was forced to train on his own yesterday and will not be allowed to rejoin the first-team squad until after their next match.

    Is also facing a staggering £720,000 fine — two weeks’ wages — for defying his manager.

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    Ronaldo issued a statement last night but did not apologise for his strop.
    The United boss has the full backing of the club’s hierarchy and Ten Hag dealt with the matter as soon as Ronaldo arrived for training at the club’s Carrington HQ yesterday.
    The Dutchman now wants either the player’s contract, that runs to the end of the season, ripped up or for the Portuguese to be dumped in the January transfer window.
    A United statement said: “Cristiano will not be part of the squad for this  Saturday’s game against Chelsea.
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    “The rest of the squad is fully focused on preparing for that.”
    SunSport can also reveal Ronaldo has lost the backing of the few allies he had left in the Red Devils camp.
    Several squad members were already upset with him for trying to engineer a move out of the club early in the season.
    However, there were no takers in the summer window and Ronaldo faces being sidelined just over four weeks out from the World Cup where he will lead Portugal.
    Recently he had seemed happier but his Spurs strop was the final straw for the few team-mates who had continued to back him.
    ALL GONE RON WAY
    The last thing Ten Hag and United need is another Ronaldo sideshow affecting the club’s form having rallied from losing their opening two games.
    Ronaldo was axed from the starting XI after the 4-0 away defeat in the second league game of the season at Brentford.
    He was recalled for his first league start since then in Sunday’s 0-0 draw against Newcastle but got the hump when he was hooked in the second half for Marcus Rashford.
    Five-time Ballon d’Or winner Ronaldo had his say on the fallout with a lengthy Instagram post.
    He wrote: “As I’ve always done in my career, I try to live and play respectfully towards my colleagues, my adversaries and my coaches.
    Sometimes the heat of the moment gets the best of usCristiano Ronaldo
    “That hasn’t changed. I’m the same person that I’ve been for the last 20 years playing elite football and respect has always played a very important role in my decision- making process.
    “I started very young and the older and most experienced players’ examples were always very important to me.
    “Therefore, later on, I’ve always tried to set the example myself for the youngsters in the teams I’ve represented.
    “Unfortunately that’s not always possible and sometimes the heat of  the moment gets the best of us.
    “Right now, I have to keep working hard in Carrington, support my team-mates and be ready for everything in any game.
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    “Giving in to the pressure is not an option. It never was.
    “This is Manchester United and united we must stand. Soon we’ll be together again.”  More

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    Cristiano Ronaldo is a silly billy GOAT who was only brought back to Man Utd for nostalgia, the ageing diva needs to go

    BRINGING back Cristiano Ronaldo always was about nostalgia.It was part of Ole Gunnar Solskjaer’s fever dream to revive the glory, glory days of the Sir Alex Ferguson era.
    Cristiano Ronaldo’s Man Utd future looks doomedCredit: Reuters
    It bought into Solskjaer’s idea that Manchester United could become great again simply because of what Manchester United used to be — rather than being part of a coherent plan to build the elite modern club they can become.
    We’ve had enough of trying to bring back the old days — with rampant inflation, widespread strikes and the threat of blackouts, nostalgia ain’t what it used to be. And if you’re a United fan, especially so.
    It goes without saying that the sight of Ronaldo leaving the subs’ bench and stomping off to the dressing room with five minutes still to play in United’s comprehensive defeat of Tottenham was unedifying and disrespectful to Erik ten Hag and his team.
    A silly billy GOAT kicking off. An overgrown toddler chucking his Ballon d’Ors out of the pram.
    An ageing diva raging against the dying of the limelight, openly fuming because United had produced their best performance of the season and battered Spurs without him.
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    But Ronaldo’s tantrum was so glaring, it also felt like an opportunity for Ten Hag to get rid of his turbulent Galactico from a position of strength.
    And by axing him from the squad for tomorrow’s trip to Chelsea, it seems the Dutchman is now on the front foot.
    If Ten Hag now shows the courage of his convictions and sends Ronaldo packing, who could argue against him?
    After all, this wasn’t an isolated incident. Ronaldo dodged pre-season as he sought a move away, then left Old Trafford early during a friendly against Rayo Vallecano.
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    And while Ronaldo’s return was a flawed idea, even under rose-tinted Solskjaer, his continued presence at Ten Hag’s United is an utter nonsense.
    Whether Ten Hag ultimately succeeds or fails, he is a progressive coach who deserves a chance to create a United in his own image — rather than that of the club’s celebrity-obsessed social-media and commercial departments.
    Yes, Ronaldo can still score goals. Yes, even at 37, he boasts abdominal muscles you could do your laundry on.
    Could United still benefit from having a player who has scored 700 club career goals? Yes, but only if he were a team man.
    Because this debate goes beyond Ronaldo’s individual footballing merits — it goes to the heart of the club’s philosophy.
    Before Ten Hag left Ajax for Manchester, his fellow Dutchman Louis van Gaal warned him he was joining “a commercial club, not a football club”.
    Even those who sat bored to tears throughout Van Gaal’s own United reign will have recognised the truth in that statement.
    Bin off Ronaldo in January and United can become a proper football club once more — a team which is all about the collective, all about results.
    Cristiano Ronaldo storming down the Manchester United tunnelCredit: Rex
    Too many United players have shrunk in stature since Ronaldo arrived — Bruno Fernandes, Harry Maguire, Jadon Sancho and Marcus Rashford among them.
    Ronaldo is not entirely to blame for those players suffering major downturns but neither is his presence a complete coincidence.Fernandes was pre-eminent again as United battered Spurs with 28 shots.
    And had Hugo Lloris not been so magnificent, Antonio Conte’s men would have been humiliated.
    Rashford has suffered injuries, and perhaps he was distracted by his heroic campaigning against child poverty, too, but he has also had his wings clipped by Ronaldo.
    Sancho was United’s marquee signing of 2021 until the chance to re-sign Ronaldo fell into Solskjaer’s lap, whereupon the young England winger soon looked lost.
    Maguire was a respected captain — if not a genuine world-class defender — until the arrival of an uber-ego unsettled the dressing-room dynamic.
    If Solskjaer and the United hierarchy believed that adding Ronaldo’s goal threat to a team which had finished as runners-up in the 2020-21 season would instantly turn them into title contenders, then they weren’t watching what happened at the Portuguese’s previous club, Juventus.
    Ronaldo netted 101 goals in 134 matches but the collective became weaker. Juve were knocked off their perch as Italian champions and made no impact in Europe.
    Cristiano Ronaldo has fallen out of favour with Erik ten HagCredit: Rex
    Tomorrow, United go to Chelsea, whose new owner, Todd Boehly, wanted to sign Ronaldo this summer.
    Thomas Tuchel wouldn’t have him and Graham Potter wouldn’t either. Both would recognise him as a commercial signing and a disruptive influence.
    Surely, Ten Hag knows he would be better off without a player who should now be entering his MLS years.
    Like Elvis in Vegas, people can still enjoy the show but without pretending Ronaldo is cutting-edge any more.
    Even his United anthem Viva Ronaldo is absurdly dated, mentioning him ‘running down the wing’ when he has been a centre-forward for more than a decade.
    Ten Hag doesn’t need Ronaldo and doesn’t deserve his attention-seeking strops.
    For the Dutchman to have engineered victories over Liverpool, Arsenal and Spurs after that catastrophic 4-0 defeat by Brentford in August is some achievement.
    United are now part of an intriguing Champions League race, in which any of the Big Six plus the nouveau riche from Geordie Arabia could make the top four.
    At the summit are Arsenal, a club building a new identity after the exit of a great long-serving manager.
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    Under a manager, Mikel Arteta, who possessed the courage and was allowed the personal authority to move on moody superstars Mesut Ozil and Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang then build a stronger future without them.
    That is the template for Ten Hag and United. Keep clinging to the past and the future may never come.
    Cristiano Ronaldo has been dropped by Erik ten HagCredit: Rex More

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    Cristiano Ronaldo breaks silence after storming down tunnel… but shamed Man Utd star REFUSES to make public apology

    CRISTIANO RONALDO has broken his silence after refusing to come on and storming down the Manchester United tunnel before the final whistle against Tottenham. The Old Trafford legend was slammed for leaving the bench before United’s 2-0 win over Spurs had even ended.
    Cristiano Ronaldo storming down the Manchester United tunnelCredit: Rex

    Manager Erik ten Hag today reacted by dropping Ronaldo for the club’s trip to Chelsea on Saturday.
    And now the player has spoken out in a lengthy social media post – but failed to make an apology.
    He said: “As I’ve always done throughout my career, I try to live and play respectfully towards my colleagues, my adversaries and my coaches.
    “That hasn’t changed. I haven’t changed. I’m the same person and the same professional that I’ve been for the last 20 years playing elite football, and respect has always played a very important role in my decision making process.”
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    Ronaldo added: “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.
    “Giving in to the pressure is not an option. It never was.
    “This is Manchester United, and united we must stand. Soon we’ll be together again.”
    Ronaldo, 37, was an unused sub as goals from midfield pair Fred and Bruno Fernandes saw off Spurs.
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    But he later caused uproar by storming down the tunnel before his team-mates had even finished playing.
    Ten Hag vowed to deal with the incident and sent out a message by dropping the forward for United’s next match.
    A club statement read: “Cristiano will not be part of the Manchester United squad for this Saturday’s game against Chelsea.
    “The rest of the squad is fully focused on preparing for that fixture.”
    Ronaldo, who was replaced up front by Marcus Rashford, is now set to train on his own and could also face a hefty fine.
    Cristiano Ronaldo was an unused sub against SpursCredit: Rex More

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    Man Utd warned they are not only club in for Cody Gakpo as Ruud van Nistelrooy says ‘top teams’ want transfer

    MANCHESTER UNITED’S hopes of signing Cody Gakpo have been dented as PSV boss Ruud van Nistelrooy insists there is a lot of interest in him.The 23-year-old Dutch international was the subject of interest from the Red Devils in the summer transfer window.
    PSV star Cody Gakpo is attracting interest from the best European football teamsCredit: Getty
    The Old Trafford club considered a move for Gakpo as a deal for Ajax’s Antony was proving difficult to sort, although they did get it over the line in the end.
    Despite staying at PSV, Gakpo has continued to excel and has netted 14 goals in 20 games this season for club and country.
    Should United want to go back in for the attacker, it will prove to be harder as confirmed by his boss and former Red Devils striker Van Nistelrooy.
    He said: “I think there is not only Premier League clubs after him.
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    “Of course, with the quality he is showing and the form he is having over the last three-four months is exceptional.
    “His stats, his assists and goals that he is involved in, of course, draws the attention of the best clubs in European football.
    “The good thing about him is that he is aged 23-years-old and is purely focused on his development and becoming a better player, doing well and captaining PSV the best he can.
    “He is also focusing on a great World Cup as he is playing in the national team with [Louis] Van Gaal.
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    “For him he is in a fantastic moment and he wants to continue that and when the time comes he will make decisions when necessary.”
    The player admitted that he was “close” to joining United in the summer after confirming talks with manager Erik ten Hag.
    He told The Times that it was a “shame” that the deal did not go through because United are “one of the biggest clubs in the world”.
    United will likely be back in the market for a forward in January and next summer with continued question marks over the futures of Cristiano Ronaldo and Anthony Martial. More

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    Cristiano Ronaldo arrives at Man Utd training for showdown talks with Erik ten Hag after Tottenham tantrum

    CRISTIANO RONALDO has arrived at Manchester United training for showdown talks after storming down the tunnel during his side’s win over Tottenham.The Portuguese superstar, 37, left Old Trafford before the final whistle as he was left furious at being an unused substitute.
    Ronaldo arriving at training on Thursday after his strop less than 24 hours earlierCredit: Eamonn and James Clarke
    Ronaldo stormed down the tunnel before the final whistle on Wednesday nightCredit: Rex
    Ten Hag has warned he will deal with the Ronaldo situation on ThursdayCredit: EPA
    Ronaldo did still show up to training on Thursday, with Erik ten Hag expected to deal with the superstar this afternoon.
    When asked about the five-time Ballon d’Or winner’s antics after the game, the Man Utd manager said: “We will deal with that on Thursday. I saw him leaving but I didn’t speak to him after.
    “I don’t pay attention to that, we want to focus on this team, it was a magnificent performance from all 11 players.
    “Tonight we celebrate the result and the rest we deal with on Thursday.”
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    Ronaldo missed the dressing room celebrations with the rest of his team-mates on Wednesday night due to his premature exit from the stadium.
    He went down the tunnel when Ten Hag still had two of his five permitted substitutions available.

    Ronaldo has started just two of United’s 12 Premier League games so far this season, with Ten Hag preferring to go with Marcus Rashford up front.
    And of the 12 appearances he has made in all competitions, he has hit the back of the net just twice.
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    His antics in the final minutes of the Spurs clash are nothing new for Ten Hag to deal with when it comes to the former Real Madrid man.
    Ronaldo was slammed for his reaction to being subbed early in Sunday’s goalless draw against Newcastle — and also threw a strop at Brentford in August.
    After a pre-season clash with Rayo Vallecano at Old Trafford, he even headed home early after being replaced at half-time.
    The Red Devils boss was was also asked whether Ronaldo, 37, had permission to head to the dressing room early.
    To which the Dutchman replied: “In answer to your question, we deal with that on Thursday and what we have seen tonight was 11 players who defend, 11 players who attack. There was a lot of dynamic in the attack as well.
    “I have to mention, I said 11 players, I have to correct myself, it was a performance also from the subs who came on who had a good role.”
    PUNDITS PILE IN
    Ronaldo was widely criticised by pundits for his reaction to not getting on against Tottenham.
    Ex-England defender Danny Mills said: “If he has done that, it’s an absolute disgrace.
    “I think that’s disrespectful to the team, to the manager, to the fans.
    “They’re winning 2-0. What complaint can he have? If they were losing 2-0, it still wouldn’t be right but I would sort of understand it.
    “He clearly thinks he’s bigger than the club.”
    And Gabriel Agbonlahor added: “He’s a spoilt brat. To walk down the tunnel like that is a disgrace. You can’t do that. It is so disrespectful to your team-mates.
    “If I am in the changing room with Ronaldo, I want my manager to make a statement. I would leave Ronaldo out of the Chelsea game.”
    But Ronaldo’s former team-mate Rio Ferdinand insists the current situation is unfair for all involved.
    He said: “My only thought could be that Cristiano is being saved for the weekend against Chelsea. That’s the only way I see it, logically.
    “He didn’t play today and I think Ronaldo will be absolutely fuming with that naturally and I wouldn’t expect anything different from him.
    “I think the big problem Erik ten Hag’s got is that, coming up to this next window, I think he’s got to think very carefully about what he does.
    “If he doesn’t see Cristiano Ronaldo as a starter in his team more often than not, I think he has to release him from the contract, has to let him go.
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    “It’s not fair on anybody – the club, Cristiano, Erik ten Hag or the players – that after every game he doesn’t start is ‘why didn’t didn’t Cristiano Ronaldo start?’ and that’s the story.
    “Man Utd have won 2-0 today and one of the leading stories will probably be about Ronaldo tomorrow and that can’t be right.”
    Ronaldo watched on as his side won without him yet againCredit: REX More

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    Ten Hag can see the future, Cristiano Ronaldo is the past – Man Utd must AXE icon for everyone’s sake after Spurs strop

    THE time really has come for Manchester United to rip up Cristiano Ronaldo’s contract and show him the door.His actions in walking out on the Red Devils’ best performance under Erik Ten Hag is unforgivable.
    Cristiano Ronaldo’s walkout in the win over Tottenham ensured the headlines were about himCredit: Rex
    It’s time for Erik ten Hag and Man utd to rip up his contract and show him the doorCredit: Rex
    Once again in a desperate moment of theatrics, he turned the attention on himself in United’s 2-0 victory over Tottenham and, to be fair, he got it.
    Not that Ten Hag seemed bothered: “I don’t pay attention to that, we want to focus on this team, it was a magnificent performance from all 11 players.
    “Tonight we celebrate the result and the rest we deal with on Thursday.”
    Indeed Ronaldo as a player is becoming an irrelevance for him, has been for some time.
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    He has paid him respect in refusing to point to the fact that the player’s powers are now dramatically on the wane.
    So much so that for the first time since he was a teenager the 37-year-old no longer demands a first team place in a football team.
    Even in Portugal, their football media are questioning whether he should start next month’s World Cup.
    Still, he craves the attention.
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    Which is why in the final minute of normal time, he hot-footed it down the tunnel at Old Trafford, realising he was not being brought into the action, and soon after Cristiano had left the building.
    It was such a shameful sign of disrespect to his teammates.
    He remains the biggest name at the club which is why he should have been on that pitch, full of smiles, congratulating his teammates.
    They had produced an awesome display in beating high-flying Spurs, which had Old Trafford buzzing like it has not done for some time.
    Proof that the wins over Arsenal and Liverpool at the famous old ground this season had not just been one-offs when the team had managed to raise itself for the big occasion.
    Get something at Stamford Bridge on Saturday in the 5.30pm kick-off against Chelsea to follow it up and people really will start to sit up and take notice.
    But unfortunately, the Ronaldo sideshow can still become the main show, even without him touching a ball.
    After similar petulance in pre-season United should have done something there and then.
    In the final warm-up game against Rayo Vallecano, Ronaldo was hooked at half-time and left ten minutes before the end of the game.
    This after having what appeared to be a very public difference of views with his manager during a break in play in the first period.
    Still United decided to keep him, while his agent tried to force a move.
    Ten Hag wanted the matter resolved but it wasn’t.
    Now a brooding presence will return to Carrington this week, a place that should be bouncing, like Old Trafford was.
    Indeed the Ronaldo strop had little resonance with his teammates who celebrated on the pitch and in the dressing room without a second thought for what had happened.
    This is a new team, with an exciting influx of new players and rejuvenated ones who had lost their way.
    Witness how Ten Hag turned Fred around from Sunday to Wednesday night.
    The new boss says everything publicly to continue to respect Ronaldo the legend even though the signs are there that he no longer warrants a place in a top team.
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    It is just a shame that the same respect is not replicated.
    Ten Hag can see the future, Ronaldo is in the past. More

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    ‘Am I stirring things?’ – Alan Shearer claims Bruno Fernandes looks ‘happier’ without Cristiano Ronaldo in Man Utd team

    ALAN SHEARER believes Bruno Fernandes looks happier without Cristiano Ronaldo on the pitch. The midfielder scored the second for Manchester United last night as they comfortably beat Tottenham at Old Trafford.
    Fernandes had one of his best performances in recent times as United beat SpursCredit: AP
    Ronaldo started against Newcastle on Sunday but was back to warming the bench last nightCredit: Getty
    Alan Shearer had a theory on United’s dynamics last nightCredit: Rex
    The Red Devils were in complete control for most of the game and may have scored even more goals on a different night.
    The only issue for United boss Erik ten Hag were the antics of Ronaldo, who threw a strop after failing to get off the bench.
    On commentary duties for Amazon Prime Video, Shearer wondered aloud if Fernandes preferred life without Ronaldo on the pitch.
    He said: “Would I be stirring if I said Bruno looks happier in this team without Ronaldo?
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    “I just look at his performance tonight and his energy and look at his leadership and the qualities he has offered both defensively and offensively and he has done so much for them in this performance tonight. He deserved that goal.”
    Fernandes used to be the jewel in the crown of Man United’s attacking armoury and scored 18 goals and bagged 12 assists in the season before Ronaldo’s return.
    There has even been a suggestion by critics that the two Portuguese stars struggle to play together, with Fernandes’ form falling off dramatically last season.
    But after his star performance last night, the 28-year-old insisted he was not obsessed with the idea of being the star man.
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    He said: “I don’t like being the main (player) because some players need that status.
    “I have to work hard, it is my way to play since I was a kid. I will not say I am ‘Man of the Match!’
    “I understand my position, when some players are on the pitch I understand that and don’t have problems sacrificing myself to get the best out of my team-mates.”
    Fernandes ran the show against Tottenham and created nine chances himself, the most of any player in a Premier League game this season.
    Along with starting off the move that led to Fred’s deflected goal, he also scored a fine effort in the second-half.
    But United’s encouraging performance threatens to be overshadowed by the latest drama featuring Ronaldo.
    Ten Hag was not happy with the unused sub after he stormed down the tunnel five minutes before the full time whistle. More