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Roy Keane before appearing on Sky Sports' coverage of Manchester City against Manchester United at Etihad Stadium, Manchester, October 2022.

Watch: Roy Keane defends Cristiano Ronaldo – ‘Players have done worse at Man Utd’

Roy Keane has come to the defence of his former Manchester United team-mate Cristiano Ronaldo.

Ronaldo was omitted from United’s squad for the Premier League clash against Chelsea after disobeying Erik ten Hag’s request to come on in the closing stages of the 2-0 victory over Tottenham on Wednesday.

The 37-year-old forward was in the starting line-up for last weekend’s match against Newcastle, but he drew a blank and Ten Hag’s side dropped two points in a 0-0 draw.

Ten Hag responded by dropping Ronaldo to the bench for Spurs, and explained his rationale in a pre-match interview with MUTV.

“Marcus [Rashford] was ill at the weekend, he was not available for 90 minutes,” Ten Hag told MUTV. “Otherwise, he would have started on Sunday. You saw at the moment Marcus came in, we were getting more dynamic in front.

“That’s what we need today, to break the lines, but also to build up this game and in the end, we know we have a threat from the bench with Cristiano [Ronaldo] to finish the game.”

Some pundits suggested that the performance against Spurs was United’s best in years – and certainly of Ten Hag’s reign to date – but Ronaldo dominated the headlines after stepping off the bench and walking down the touchline and into the dressing room before the final whistle. He reportedly left the stadium before his team-mates were back in to celebrate the result.

It later transpired that Ten Hag turned to him as a substitute but Ronaldo said no.

Surprisingly enough, Keane didn’t think the discretion was too bad.

“He [Ten Hag] is disappointed Ronaldo didn’t want to go on. Walking down the tunnel, he’s been punished. He’s had enough, he’s lost his head,” Keane told Sky Sports.

“It’s been brewing for the last few weeks. He’s a human being, he’s got flaws, he’s frustrated he’s not got opportunities, he’s had enough. He’s walked down the tunnel, players have done worse at Man United.

“United’s best performance in years? Absolute rubbish, Spurs were terrible. United beat Spurs last year at home and Ronaldo got a hat-trick. He was more than capable of getting onto the pitch and making a difference.

“He has to take his punishment. I still think Ronaldo, his behaviour over the last week, he refused to go on, I’d be more worried if Ronaldo was laughing his head off. I think he cares, he cares about the club, he wants to play, he needs to play.

“He’s the leading goalscorer for Man United last season. A bad Man United team, but still their leading goalscorer.

“Late in the game, two or three minutes to go, not too sure that was a clever move. He’s got to take his medicine. Back for Manchester United before the World Cup? I don’t see it.”

It would be interesting to consider what Keane would’ve said if a less high-profile player had done what Ronaldo did.

Watch what he had to say below:


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