Cristiano Ronaldo told Ralf Rangnick he wouldn't sit on the bench for Manchester United games he wasn't involved in - instead choosing to watch them on TV at home.
The Portuguese star played for several months under Rangnick, who came in to replace Ole Gunnar Solskjaer midway through the 2021/22 season. Ronaldo had been signed that summer to huge fan fare, but his impact on the dressing room and his playing style had been questioned.
Ronaldo was well into his 30s when he returned to Manchester for a second spell and struggled to enact the pressing systems that have become common practice. Due to his age, Ranginck and Ronaldo had discussions about managing his workload.
Rangnick was the club's interim boss with the plan being for him to move into a consultancy role. Bild reports that Ronaldo told the manager he'd play four out of five matches - but the one he missed would see him left at home as he rejected the idea of sitting on the bench.
Ronaldo's return to Old Trafford, where he won his first Ballon d'Or back in 2008, didn't go as planned with the club eventually terminating his deal 18 months after he was signed from Juventus. It was Erik ten Hag who was at the helm when Ronaldo forced his exit from the club.
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Before that though he'd been scathing about his opinions on Rangnick, who is hailed in his homeland, but Ronaldo claimed he didn't know who he was. "If you're not even a coach, how are you going to be the boss of Manchester United? I'd never even heard of him," he said.
Rangnick endured a difficult spell whilst in charge in Manchester. Ronaldo topped the club's scoring charts in his only full season back with the Red Devils, but equalled copped huge amounts of criticism for his performances and his demeanour.
The Portuguese superstar reportedly refused to sit on the bench (Getty Images)The German tactician spoke openly about Ronaldo's flaws, which he claimed had always been evident, even when he was a younger player. He said: "He’s not a pressing monster. He’s not a player, even when he was a young player, who was crying, shouting 'hooray, the other team has got the ball, where can we win balls?
"The same with quite a few other players so we had to make some compromises at one stage, maybe we made a few too many - that’s also possible."
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