Former Manchester United captain Roy Keane has issued scathing remarks against Erik ten Hag and United’s players while defending Cristiano Ronaldo in a passionate rant.
The TV pundit pulled no punches as he came to Ronaldo’s aid and criticized the Dutch boss for his handling of the situation.
In his punditry after United’s 1-1 draw against Chelsea, Keane got into a heated debate with former teammate Gary Neville and Jimmy Floyd Hasselbank that spiralled out of control.
Keane said, “He [Ten Hag] is talking about spirit after the game, don’t you think that’s a message to Ronaldo? He [Ronaldo] certainly feels that he’s been unfairly treated. When you get that as a senior pro, it’s almost justified anger.”
“Ten Hag has obviously got big decisions, he’s got to win football matches, but he’s not winning enough of them, Manchester United are fifth in the league.”
“They [Manchester United ] beat Spurs the other night and I thought they won the European Cup. They beat Spurs. They beat them last year and Ronaldo scored a hat-trick.”
The 51-year-old doubled down on his reasoning that Ronaldo should have been in the matchday squad and even started.
He added that if the 37-year-old was regularly starting for the Red Devils, he would be the leading goalscorer.
Even after being confronted by Neville and Hasselbank, who highlighted that the team play better in the Portuguese’s absence and that not many supporters would have him in the team, Keane said that he did not care what fans thought and that he would still make room for Ronaldo.
The Cristiano Ronaldo argument could go on all night… 🤣👀 pic.twitter.com/9X8utFxpGu
— Football Daily (@footballdaily) October 22, 2022
The moment Gary Neville got Roy Keane fired up about Cristiano Ronaldo 😅 pic.twitter.com/FIMscJ25tL
— Football Daily (@footballdaily) October 22, 2022
He hinted that while players should be punished for their transgressions as was the norm during his time, Ronaldo should be spared such punishment because ‘he offers something back.’
Keane’s laughable comments will do little to sway fans who quite clearly back Ten Hag and his handling of the Ronaldo saga as Neville himself points out.
It would be an inconceivable situation that a player, even that of Ronaldo’s calibre, should be let off the hook after what he did. Unfortunately, the saga rambles on and has continued to overshadow the team’s progress.
