Manchester United striker Cristiano Ronaldo has come under heavy criticism for his behavior on Wednesday after he stormed down the tunnel in United’s 2-0 triumph against Tottenham.
Ronaldo was left out of the club’s matchday squad that did battle yesterday against Chelsea in a hotly-contested 1-1 draw that saw United get a share of the points after Casemiro scored late on in the game.
Numerous ex-players including Rio Ferdinand, Roy Keane, Paul Scholes, Gary Neville, and Peter Schmeichel have had their say regarding Ronaldo’s theatrics and how he has been handled by Erik ten Hag.
Arsenal legend Emmanuel Petit is the latest former player to pile on and comment on the issue.
The Frenchman told The Rothen S’enflamme show via SportWitness that the 37-year-old’s behavior was unacceptable and he must come to terms with his waning status.
Petit said about Ronaldo, “He tires everyone: the supporters, his teammates. They don’t want him anymore in the locker room, he pollutes everyone so much.”
“He has an exceptional career, when he stops we will all be unanimous in saying it, but his behavior is so individualistic. You know you don’t like what’s going on with your club, you can’t stand your coach Ten Hag anymore, you feel like you are disrespected for what you have done, but your status no longer exists.”
“You are no longer the same player, you have been demoted, you have suffered a downgrade, but you do not accept it because your ego is so oversized. Say it real! It can’t be defensible.”
Petit’s utterances are a far cry from those of Roy Keane.
Keane, in what was frankly a shameful rant, relayed that Ten Hag and the club were wrong for their unfair treatment of Ronaldo, and even hinted that the Portuguese should have been handled in a special way and not punished as he was.
Keane went on ahead to lay into other players including Antony, who he said had behaved far worse when he went on strike at Ajax to force through a move to England.
Nevertheless, most fans will still be feeling let down by Ronaldo and are warranted in their opinion that he should depart Old Trafford.
