• Football
  • Boxing
  • UFC
  • Home
  • Football
    • England
    • Transfer News
    • Premier League
    • Champions League
    • Lionel Messi
    • Cristiano Ronaldo
    • EA FC 25
    • Wrexham
  • Boxing
    • Tyson Fury
    • Anthony Joshua
    • Oleksandr Usyk
    • Mike Tyson
    • Jake Paul
    • Logan Paul
  • UFC
    • Dana White
    • Conor McGregor
    • Khabib Nurmagomedov
    • Jon Jones
    • Paddy Pimblett
    • Joe Rogan
  • Other Sport
    • Athletics
    • Formula 1
    • MMA
    • Motorsport
    • NBA
    • Darts
    • NFL
    • Snooker
    • Wrestling
    • Tennis
    • Cricket
    • Golf
  • Advertise
  • Terms
  • Privacy & Cookies
  • LADbible Group
  • LADbible
  • UNILAD
  • GAMINGbible
  • Tyla
  • UNILAD Tech
  • FOODbible
  • License Our Content
  • About Us & Contact
  • Jobs
  • Latest
  • Topics A-Z
  • Authors
Facebook
Instagram
X
Threads
Snapchat
TikTok
YouTube
Erik Ten Hag says Cristiano Ronaldo wasn't brought on vs Man City 'out of respect for his big career'

Home> Football

Updated 18:29 2 Oct 2022 GMT+1Published 17:42 2 Oct 2022 GMT+1

Erik Ten Hag says Cristiano Ronaldo wasn't brought on vs Man City 'out of respect for his big career'

The comments from Manchester United's manager have sparked huge debate online.

Jack Kenmare

Jack Kenmare

Manchester United manager Erik Ten Hag says Cristiano Ronaldo was not brought on during the Manchester derby "out of respect for his big career" – a comment that has sparked huge debate.

The Reds fell to a humiliating 6-3 defeat against local rivals City on Sunday afternoon as goals from Erling Haaland [3] and Phil Foden [3] sealed all three points for the reigning Premier League champions.

Antony and Anthony Martial [2] managed to claw back some pride in the second-half but ultimately, the damage was done early on following a lacklustre start from Ten Hag's men.

Advert

Image credit: Alamy
Image credit: Alamy

The Dutch manager, who has enjoyed mixed success during his opening months in charge, tried to change the course of the game by using all five of his substitutes.

Casemiro, Anthony Martial, Victor Lindelof, Luke Shaw and Fred were all brought in the second period, while five-time Ballon d'Or winner Cristiano Ronaldo was left to stir on their failings throughout.

As you can see in the below footage and pictures, Ronaldo was far from impressed after it emerged that he wouldn't be coming on to make an impact. And his reaction to City's third goal speaks volumes.

Advert

Ronaldo's reaction after it emerged that he wouldn't be brought on. Image credit: Sky Sports
Ronaldo's reaction after it emerged that he wouldn't be brought on. Image credit: Sky Sports

After the full-time whistle, Ten Hag was questioned about his decision to leave Ronaldo on the bench during his post-match press conference and well, his response has raised eyebrows amongst fans.

According to The Athletic journalist Laurie Whitwell, the former Ajax manager said he didn't bring on Portugal's all-time top goalscorer with the team 4-0 down "out of respect for his big career".

Advert

He added: "The other thing was the advantage I could bring Anthony Martial, he needs the minutes but I don't want to point it out like that."

You can see Ten Hag make those comments below.

When they made their final substitute of the day – Fred for Jadon Sancho – United were 5-1 down. So why not bring on arguably the greatest goalscorer of all time time to try and reduce the deficit?

As mentioned earlier, it's a topic that has brought plenty of debate online.

Advert

One fan commented: "Erik ten Hag says he didn't bring on Cristiano Ronaldo "out of respect for his big career". I find that an astonishing thing for a manager to both do and admit."

Another wrote: "Ten Hag has said that he didn't bring Ronaldo on 'out of respect for his career.' If he respected his career so much then he should have let him leave Utd during the summer."

A third said: "Ten Hag saying he didn't bring Ronaldo on out of respect for his career is an astonishing admission."

Some, however, respected Ten Hag's decision to 'respect' his player. One fan said: "He didn’t need to be on field today. That game required pace and control, he is lacking pace and we weren’t going to control the game.

Advert

"Another commented: "If you deep it, you'll realise that Ten Hag wants to protect their legacy, that's why they aren't starting. Respect."

Thoughts on Erik ten Hag's comment about leaving Ronaldo out? It's certainly an interesting one. Let us know.

Featured Image Credit: Sky Sports/The Mirror

Topics: Erik Ten Hag, Manchester United, Manchester City, Cristiano Ronaldo, Premier League

Jack Kenmare
Jack Kenmare

Jack is a Senior Journalist who enjoys a long read. He has an encyclopedic knowledge of Football Manager wonderkids from 2005 to the present day, and has interviewed a handful of FM's finest, including Freddy Adu, Supat Rungratsamee and Mika Aaritalo.

X

@jackkenmare_

Advert

Advert

Advert

Choose your content:

5 mins ago
an hour ago
2 hours ago
14 hours ago
  • 5 mins ago

    Liverpool fans furious with Big Zuu after spotting what he did after scoring Soccer Aid winner for World XI

    Big Zuu scored the winner in Soccer Aid after Carlos Tevez scored four goals on his return to Old Trafford.

    Football
  • an hour ago

    Real Madrid team news 'leaked' for Club World Cup clash as Xabi Alonso makes big Trent Alexander-Arnold decision

    Real Madrid face Al Hilal on Wednesday in their opening Club World Cup game.

    Football
  • 2 hours ago

    Man Utd fan Angry Ginge sends three-word message to Carlos Tevez after Soccer Aid incident

    Angry Ginge took to social media following his clash with Carlos Tevez at Soccer Aid.

    Football
  • 14 hours ago

    ITV forced to apologise TWICE on behalf of Tyson Fury after what he said live-on-air during Soccer Aid

    Fury was interviewed on-air at Old Trafford - with perhaps an expected result...

    Football
  • Piers Morgan called out Erik ten Hag once again after Cristiano Ronaldo scored his 901st career goal
  • Erik ten Hag decides the Premier League star he wants to replace Florian Wirtz in blockbuster deal that Thomas Tuchel has already approved
  • Erik ten Hag issues brutal response to Cristiano Ronaldo after being slammed by Man Utd icon
  • Erik ten Hag to ruin Man Utd's summer rebuild plans and hijack transfer with fee from Florian Wirtz move