Erik ten Hag has claimed he is in charge of “standards and values” after suspending Cristiano Ronaldo for Saturday’s trip to Chelsea.
The manager acted after Ronaldo refused to come on as a substitute and walked out the Old Trafford tunnel during Wednesday’s win over Tottenham.
Ten Hag said: “I am the coach, I am responsible for the best sports culture here and I have to set standards and values and I have to control them. We are a team and in the team we have values and standards and I have to control it” .
The manager referred to Ronaldo leaving Old Trafford before the close of July’s friendly with Rayo Vallecano after the forward was substituted at half-time.
“After Rayo Vallecano I said it [him] it was unacceptable but it was not the only one. But this is for everyone, so the second time there will be consequences. This is what we have done now. We’ll miss him tomorrow, it’s a miss for us, for the squad, but I think it’s important for the attitude and mentality of the group and now we have to focus on Chelsea because that’s the most important thing.”
Ten Hag made the decision to suspend Ronaldo even though Anthony Martial, their other number 9, remained injured.