For one more game about Cristiano Ronaldo stayed on the bench. Eric Ten Haag’s decision angered the Portuguese ace, who left Old Trafford before the final whistle in Manchester United’s match against Tottenham.

It was another episode of a special season for the Portuguese ace and the English team. In fact, for his behavior in the match with Tottenham, Cristiano Ronaldo was punished by the management with a fine of 900,000 euros, while he was also excluded from the team for the match with Chelsea.

It looks like he admitted his mistake through a post he made on Instagram. “As always throughout my career, I try to live and play with respect for my colleagues, opponents and coaches. It hasn’t changed. I haven’t changed. I have been the same person and the same professional for the last 20 years and respect has always played a very important role in the decision making process. I started very young, for me the example of older and more experienced players has always been very important. Therefore, in the future, I always tried to set an example for the youth who grew up in all the teams that I represented. Unfortunately, this is not always possible, and sometimes the “pressure of the moment” makes us not think clearly.

Right now, I just feel like I have to keep working hard at Carrington, support my teammates and be ready for anything in every game. Giving in to pressure is not an option. It never happened. This is Manchester United and we must stand together. Soon we will be together again,” said the Portuguese superstar.

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A post shared by Cristiano Ronaldo (@cristiano)

However, it is clear that the glass between the two sides is broken.

Cristiano Ronaldo was acquired by Manchester United in the summer of 2021. “I’m coming home,” the Portuguese superstar announced on social media, sparking excitement among fans of the English club.

The past year has been a roller coaster for him and for the English club. The experienced footballer had a good season, scoring 18 goals and providing 3 assists in 30 league matches. However, United were left without a trophy, failing to qualify for the Champions League.

In April, the Portuguese superstar announced that one of the twins his partner was carrying had died.

Cristiano Ronaldo’s special summer

In the summer, there were many rumors about the future of Ronaldo at Manchester United.

New team coach Erik ten Haag has insisted that the 37-year-old is part of his plans for the season. Cristiano Ronaldo did not take part in Manchester United’s pre-season in Asia for “personal reasons”, sparking a new flurry of reports about his future.

Cristiano Ronaldo returned to Manchester United training ground this morning 👀 pic.twitter.com/gF4kTL0XC2

— ESPN FC (@ESPNFC) July 26, 2022

Cristiano Ronaldo, judging by what was written, asked to leave United in the summer. The prospect of playing in the Europa League for the first time in his career did not appeal to him.

After all, he is the absolute protagonist of the Champions League for the years he has been playing. He has won the trophy five times and is the tournament’s top scorer with 140 goals, first in matches with 183 appearances and first in assists with 42.

However, he could not find a satisfactory offer, and he remained in the Red Devils.

Tough start this year

The season started hard for Manchester United with two consecutive defeats to Brighton (2-1) and Brentford (4-0), which put Eric Ten Haag in a difficult position.

Cristiano Ronaldo has missed out on a place in the Premier League starting XI after scoring one goal to start all four Europa League matches with one goal and one assist.

Now the Red Devils have learned to live without him. Manchester United now have 20 points and are in sixth place, eight points behind the top.

😬 Cristiano Ronaldo is the worst-rated Manchester United player in the Premier League this season (200+ minutes) with a WhoScored rating of 6.36. pic.twitter.com/PIhVMSUvub

— WhoScored.com (@WhoScored) October 21, 2022

However, his future remains open. The next day, the football player will meet with Eric Ten Haag. According to Theathletic, it is possible that the player will remain at large and move to another team before the expiration of the contract. However, it is not certain that Cristiano Ronaldo will “sacrifice” part of his contract.

Another scenario from the same website states that the English club would seek an agreement with him to pay him a lump sum less than the money he would have been entitled to under his contract. But that remains a distant possibility. It is clear that Cristiano Ronaldo wants more playing time.

Is his place in the Portugal national team in jeopardy?

The Manchester United superstar, who has made 190 appearances and scored 117 goals for Portugal, has no plans to retire from the national team anytime soon. After all, he himself stated that his big goal is to perform at Euro 2024, which will be held in Germany.

His impressive results, combined with victories at Euro 2016 and the Nations League, have made him an iconic kit for the national team. Who would be “brave enough” to exclude him from the squad for the World Cup, even if his playing time at Manchester United is limited?

After Portugal’s defeat in the Nations League to Spain, the country’s media reported that his playing time “had to be limited”. Everyone hopes that if he starts catching the net again, he will find the motivation again to be in good shape in the Qatar final.

Portugal are in the eighth group and will play Ghana, Uruguay and South Korea. Fernando Santos will be left without Diogo Zota, who was injured in the Liverpool derby against Manchester City.