MOSCOW, Oct 22 Manchester United head coach Eric ten Hag said he was counting on striker Cristiano Ronaldo during the current season. On Wednesday, the striker left the Old Trafford stadium before the final whistle in the match against Tottenham (2:0 in favor of United). The Portuguese spent the entire game on the bench, he was not present in the locker room when teammates celebrated the victory. It was reported that the reason for the conflict between Ronaldo and head coach Eric ten Hag was the player's refusal to come on as a substitute at the end of the match. Ronaldo himself explained his behavior by the fact that he was overwhelmed by emotions. TalkSPORT later reported that the Portuguese would be fined £720,000 for the incident. “Will Ronaldo stay until the end of the season, do I want to keep him? Yes. His departure in January is speculation. News. Also, the Dutch specialist spoke about the fact that Ronaldo left the stadium twice before the end of the match. The first time the Portuguese did it was in July during a friendly against Spain's Rayo Vallecano.
"I think everyone understands that both options are unacceptable, so I don't want to judge it. Both options are unacceptable, which is why he gets several days off. No, (he will miss) the next game, and then we will continue (work). I am open to it. In a statement, we said that Cristiano remains an important part of the team. I'm counting on him until the end of the season. We want to realize our ambitions", — said ten Hag.
In the current season of the English Premier League (EPL), Ronaldo took part in eight matches in which he scored one goal. The Portuguese twice appeared in the starting lineup. In the summer, the media reported that Ronaldo wants to leave Manchester United due to the team's non-participation in the Champions League.