January 21, (THEWILL) – Ralf Rangnick, the interim manager of Manchester United, said Cristiano Ronaldo questioned why he was substituted ahead of one of the younger players during Manchester United’s midweek victory against Brentford.
THEWILL recalls that when Ronaldo was substituted with United ahead 2-0, he threw his tracksuit jacket to the ground and sat in the dugout with a thunderous face.
Marcus Rashford, who came on as part of the double replacement, scored shortly after, and Rangnick believes the move was justified. He also stated that Ronaldo’s reaction “was not a problem at all,” but emphasised the need of prioritising the team over an individual player.
The German manager made this clear while addressing the media ahead of the side’s game against West Ham: “I think we shouldn’t make too much of a fuss out of it. I can only speak for myself and my coaching staff.
“I explained that to him, even during the game, when we had that little conversation after we had scored the third goal. The job of a football manager is to help teams win games. For me, it was clear from our experience at Villa Park, that this time we had to do things better. We did it better.
“The only question was, ‘Who do we take off?’ Of course, Cristiano is a prolific goalscorer as a player who always wants to play and score goals. He was asking, ‘Why me? Why didn’t you take off one of the younger players?’ But the answer came five minutes later when one of the younger players scored the third goal.
“Maybe Cristiano could have also scored that goal, but football is not always ‘maybe’, it’s about taking a decision at the right moment.”
Earlier this month, Ronaldo made headlines when he questioned the mentality of some of the club’s younger players and their apparent refusal to accept criticism.
Rangnick added that Ronaldo’s reaction was not unexpected, claiming that attacking players and goal scorers are wired to desire to be on the field at all times.
“The team is more important, no matter who it is, if it’s Cristiano or Edinson or Bruno or any other player – Bruno has also been substituted and was not happy with that in the last couple of weeks. It’s about what is in the best interest of the team and the club,” Rangnick concluded.
Jude Obafemi is a versatile senior Correspondent at THEWILL Newspapers, excelling in sourcing, researching, and delivering sports news stories for both print and digital publications.
