Why Erik ten Hag didn't field Cristiano Ronaldo against Man City

Erling Haaland and Phil Foden scored hat-tricks as Manchester City thrashed Manchester United at the Etihad on October 2, 2022. Cristiano Ronaldo was an unused substitute for the first time this season.

Marcus Rashford's return from a muscle injury saw Ronaldo drop out of United's starting line-up and despite manager Ten Hag making five changes during the game, the five-time Ballon d'Or winner was not one of them.

Upon being asked why Ronaldo did not feature, Ten Hag revealed he did not want to insult the forward by introducing him with United already 4-0 down.

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"I didn't bring him on out of respect for his big career," Ten Hag said at his post-match press conference.

"And the other thing, there was then the advantage I could bring Antony Martial on. He needs the minutes but I don't want to point it out like that." He added.

Roy Keane was unimpressed with Ten Hag's idea hence rubbishing it stating that United are disrespecting Ronaldo.

"I think United are showing disrespect to Ronaldo. He should have been let go before the transfer window.

"The manager held on to him. Ok, he said he wanted options. But you don't hold on to Ronaldo to sit on the bench. He is one of the greatest players ever. He had options to move in the summer. This idea he didn't have options is rubbish. He had four or five good options.

"The big picture is that he [Ten Hag] is not going to play Ronaldo. It is just going to get uglier as the season goes on. United have shown nothing but disrespect to Ronaldo." He said.

Former United captain Gary Neville defended Ten Hag stating that he likes his honesty and it was not the best thing to introduce Ronaldo with United trailing 4-0 already.