Man United’s ten Hag After Ronaldo’s Early Exit: ‘Unacceptable’ to Leave Game

If it wasn’t clear before that Cristiano Ronaldo wants out at Manchester United, his early exit during Sunday’s friendly added to the speculation. 

Just a day after he tweeted, “Sunday the King plays,” the Portuguese star was pictured leaving Old Trafford before the match was over after he was subbed off at halftime against Rayo Vallecano. Fullback Diogo Dalot, who did not play Sunday, was also reportedly among the players who left early. 

The news led manager Erik ten Hag to censure the early departures in an interview with Dutch outlet Viaplay on Wednesday, although he did not mention the players by name.

“I certainly don’t condone this,” ten Hag said. “This is unacceptable. For everyone. We are a team and you have to stay until the end.”

This summer, Ronaldo informed the club of his desire to leave if the right offer came along. He also missed Manchester United’s preseason tour of Thailand and Australia due to personal reasons, leading to speculation of a potential exit.

However, ten Hag has reiterated throughout the summer that Ronaldo remains a part of his plans, previously saying, ”We are planning with Cristiano Ronaldo for this season so that’s it.”

Manchester United missed out on Champions League after finishing sixth last season on 58 points, its lowest points total in its history in the Premier League. But Ronaldo finished the season as the club’s top scorer with 24 goals in 35 matches across all competitions.