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Portuguese striker Cristiano Ronaldo has been looking for a transfer in the upcoming January window after failing to find a move in the summer reported by James Ducker of The Telegraph. Ronaldo was sitting on the bench through Manchester United’s 6-3 demolition against arch-rivals Manchester City.
The former Real Madrid star was in the plans of Man United manager Erik Ten Hag but now the Dutchman has allowed the 37-year-old to leave Old Trafford. After the one-sided Manchester Derby, Ten Hag was asked the reason behind not picking Ronaldo and expressed that decision was taken to protect Cristiano Ronaldo from enduring the shame of being associated with such a performance.
The 2022-23 season so far hasn’t worked out well for the five-time Ballon d'Or as he has started only one Premier League game this season in the 4-0 humiliation at Brentford, since then he has played just 80 minutes in the competition. Similarly, he has just one goal in the Man United jersey which was a penalty against Sheriff Tiraspol in the Europa League.
Addressing Ronaldo’s benching in the Manchester Derby at the Etihad Stadium, Manchester United legend Roy Keane was extremely frustrated with Ten Hag’s decision. Keane expressed that the Red Devils are disrespecting Ronaldo and should have let him go in the transfer window.
While speaking to Sky Sports after the City loss, the Irish legend said, “I think Man United are just showing disrespect to Ronaldo. I think he should have been let go before the transfer window. I think the manager is holding on to him.”
Keane then talked about how Ten Hag has been talking about not having any options but still hasn’t opted to bring CR7, who has been one of the best players in the world. He said, “Okay, you say you need options, but you don’t hold on to Ronaldo to sit on the bench. He’s one of the greatest players ever. He had options. This idea that he had no options is rubbish; he did have options, four or five very good options. It’s just going to get uglier as the season goes on.''
