It’s not the first time this has happened. Last season, Cristiano Ronaldo had already expressed his disagreement when he was replaced with the Juventus jersey in Turin. This same scene repeated itself this Wednesday evening with his new club this season, Manchester United.
While his team was quietly leading 2-0 against promoted Brentford, the Portuguese player grew angry when his coach, Ralf Rangnick, decided to take him out, and replace him numerically with Harry Maguire. Obviously, stunned by the choice of his coach, Ronaldo did not try to hide his anger and his incomprehension. Once the field left, the attacker took his coat before throwing it to the ground in protest.
The scene could have ended there. But not at all: a few minutes later, while Ronaldo is still sitting on the steps of the stairs next to his teammates, the German coach tries to talk to the Portuguese to visibly justify his choice. So caught up in their exchange, the two men completely missed the Mancunians’ third goal scored by Rashford six minutes later.
Will this scene leave its mark on a team that completely missed its start to the league season by climbing to a very modest seventh place, very far from the rank and caliber of a club like Manchester United?
If the qualification for the knockout stages of the Champions League against Antoine Griezmann’s Atletico de Madrid allows the English to breathe a little, it is now impossible for them to keep secret the tensions which are more and more visible.