Cristiano Ronaldo ‘Refused’ to Sit on Man Utd’s Bench Under Rangnick

· GiveMeSport

Cristiano Ronaldo has never been a fan of sitting on the bench, but his reported dispute with Ralf Rangnick was bizarre.

Cristiano Ronaldo walked out of Portugal's international camp earlier this week following a reported dispute with manager Jorge Jesus, but it's not the first time he's fallen out with a coach.

The 41-year-old has been one of the best players in world football for the past two decades. What comes with that, in the eyes of many, is an ego.

Ronaldo has never been a fan of being left out of the starting XI or even being substituted off. Being left on the bench throughout Portugal's win vs Norway last week appears to have been the final nail in his international career.

His reaction suggested he wasn't very happy as he stormed down the tunnel at the full-time whistle. But it's been a common theme in Ronaldo's career; just ask his ex- Manchester United boss, Ralf Rangnick.

Ronaldo returned to Old Trafford in 2021 after 12 years away to a hero's welcome. The man who had helped the Red Devils to three Premier League titles during his first stint was supposed to bring back the glory days.

It didn't quite work out that way, however. Ole Gunnar Solskjaer lost his job just months after Ronaldo returned, and the Norwegian was replaced by Rangnick .

Problems started almost instantly between the pair as Ronaldo appeared to have little respect for the German coach. In a January 2022 match at Brentford, Rangnick withdrew the Portuguese forward in the 71st minute, which wasn't taken too well.

Manchester United may wish they'd paid closer attention to Ralf Rangnick's recommendations.

After publicly showing his disappointment, Ronaldo reportedly explained how things would work. Speaking after the incident, Rangnick explained his reasoning for the substitution.

He said: "The only reaction I got was, 'Why me? Why did you take me off?' I had to take the decision in the interest of the team and the club."

Two years later, German publication Bild claimed that Ronaldo had laid out what would happen with his game time. According to the outlet, Ronaldo refused to sit on the bench, but accepted he would not play in one out of five matches.

Ronaldo's reported words to his boss were: "I tell you how we do it: I play 4 of 5 games. You decide which game I don't play. But I don't sit on the bench. I watch it at home on TV."

Speaking in an explosive November 2022 interview with Piers Morgan, Ronaldo discussed his disappointment with several people. Wayne Rooney , Erik ten Hag and Rangnick were all criticised for varying reasons.

Questioning United's decision to install Rangnick as the temporary boss in the 2021-22 season, he said: "After Ole, they bring in sport director Ralf Rangnick, which is something nobody understands. 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."

Rangnick, now the manager of Austria, responded shortly after. However, he refused to say much, commenting: "I'm the team boss of Austria's national team, it's not my job to judge that. (It's) the job of Manchester United and the sports journalists."

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