Man Utd legend Jaap Stam does not think Sir Alex Ferguson would have reacted positively to recent antics from Cristiano Ronaldo.
The 37-year-old caused a scene earlier this week and took all the attention away from United’s impressive 2-0 win over Tottenham Hotspur.
Ronaldo started on the bench and Man Utd performed brilliantly without him as they dispatched Spurs with relative ease.
The forward was clearly unhappy to be left on the sidelines as before the final whistle he trudged off down the touchline to depart early.
Erik ten Hag subsequently confirmed that the experienced striker refused to come on off the bench.
Ronaldo has rightly been punished in the aftermath. He will not feature against Chelsea this weekend and it is expected that he will train away from the first-team for the foreseeable future.
The Portugal international attempted to save face after his antics as he admitted that he lost it “in the heat of the moment”.
“I’ve always tried to set the example myself for the youngsters that grew in all the teams that I’ve represented.
“Unfortunately that’s not always possible and sometimes the heat of the moment gets the best of us.
“Right now, I just feel that I have to keep working hard in Carrington, support my teammates and be ready for everything in any given game.
“Giving in to the pressure is not an option. It never was. This is Manchester United, and united we must stand. Soon we’ll be together again.”
Stam and Ronaldo both played under club legend Ferguson, who never took any sh*t from players.
The former defender thinks Ten Hag’s reaction to the incident is “normal”.
“I think it’s a normal reaction that ten Hag’s made, and Ronaldo knows that as well because a player of his experience, the quality he has, what he’s done,” Stam told Football Daily.
When asked how Ferguson would have dealt with the latest incident involving Ronaldo, Stam replied: “Talk about the hairdryer, it would have been a big hairdryer that one.”
The Dutchman also expressed some sympathy for Ronaldo: “He’s not happy that he’s not playing. Of course he’s not. It wouldn’t be a good thing if he was happy sitting on the bench.
“It’s not fair to him to be remembered for this situation. He’s been world class, I still think he is world class, and you don’t want to go into the history books walking off the pitch because you’re not happy not playing.
“He’ll probably go in now and make his apologies, but it will still be in people’s minds, he has done something that is not good.”
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