Cristiano Ronaldo was surprisingly left on the bench for the entire 90 minutes yesterday as Manchester United were thrashed 6-3 by rivals Manchester City at the Etihad Stadium.
Pep Guardiola’s side were in superb form as they comfortably won the first Manchester Derby of the season, with Erling Haaland and Phil Foden both each bagging a hat-trick in a memorable victory.
It wasn’t a great day for Ronaldo, however, as Erik ten Hag left him on the bench and never brought him on, with Fabrizio Romano questioning this decision in his exclusive column for CaughtOffside.
Romano feels that the veteran Portugal international still has something to offer in a big game like this, but he also insisted that there is no change with regards to the player’s transfer situation.
Ronaldo’s future looked in serious doubt for much of the summer as he missed a large chunk of Man Utd’s pre-season, but Romano says it’s too early to say what his agent Jorge Mendes will look to do for his client in January.
“There’s no update yet on Cristiano Ronaldo, it’s too early,” Romano explained. “In November / December, during the World Cup, it will be easier to understand Cristiano’s position with Mendes – as of now, nothing has changed.
“To be honest, I’d always play Cristiano in top games like the Manchester Derby, but it’s also fair to remember that he didn’t do the full pre-season.”
Ronaldo may be approaching 38 years of age, but he still had a superb season for United last term, netting 24 goals in all competitions for a struggling side, so one imagines some fans will be questioning Ten Hag for not calling upon him even as a substitute against City yesterday.
While there’s no doubt Ronaldo is past his peak now, he’s still one of the greatest of all time, and it’s sad to see his Premier League career fizzling out in this way.