This change almost borders on insult to majesty…
Frustrated by Cristiano Ronaldo!
In the 71st minute of Premier League – Manchester City's turnover for the first time higher than Manchester United's”>Manchester United‘s 3-1 win in Brentford, the Portuguese was substituted by coach Ralf Rangnick. The Portuguese was then visibly pissed off, was just able to get a handshake with Rangnick, but then angrily stomped to the bank, threw a jacket on the ground and obviously scolded Rangnick’s decision: “Why me?”
When Marcus Rashford, who came on for the superstar, made it 3-0 six minutes later, Rangnick whispered something in Ronaldo’s ear – after which CR7 calmed down.
After the match, Rangnick explained, “He asked me, ‘Why me? Why did you have to put me down?’ We were in exactly the same situation five days ago: 2-0 up, 15 minutes to play and we don’t want to make the same mistakes again. So I decided to switch to a five-man defence, bring in (Harry) Maguire and Marcus (Rashford) and I think it was the right decision.” United had to settle for a 2-2 draw at Aston Villa in the end .
Rangnick continued: “I said to him, ‘I understand you’re still ambitious and you want to score a goal, but maybe in a few years, when you’re a coach yourself, hopefully you’ll make the same decisions and be in the same role as I’.” It was a decision “in the interest of the team”.
“I didn’t expect him to hug me for that. He’s a goalscorer and would have liked to have stayed on the pitch and maybe scored, but it was more important to stay compact (…) and when we scored that’s exactly what I said to him,” said Rangnick.
Manchester had had problems with the game for long stretches. Brentford manager Thomas Frank said after the game: “We are the smallest club in the Premier League, Manchester United are the biggest. We destroyed them in the first half, they had no access at all. It’s a miracle they aren’t 2-0 down. De Gea was by far her best man. They were incredibly lucky. The way we nailed them to the wall in the first half was fantastic.”
ManUnited are seventh in the table, just two points behind fourth place, which entitles them to qualify for the Champions League. Not enough for the demands of the “Red Devils” – and also for those of Ronaldo. The English “Sun” reports that his agent Jorge Mendes has already informed the club that his star player could change clubs again should Manchester not qualify for the premier class.
