Paul Merson compared Ronaldo with Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang when speaking of the disciplinary issues surrounding the Portuguese star. Ronaldo walked off the tunnel on Wednesday, as he did not come off the bench during United’s 2-0 victory against Tottenham.
Manager Erik ten Hag later confirmed that the Portuguese international refused to be substituted in the match.
The 37-year-old is reportedly not in the squad which faces Chelsea this weekend. Furthermore, he was to train with reserve teammates and had a fine of two-weeks wages – about £720,000.
Paul Merson compared Ronaldo’s current situation to Aubameyang’s disciplinary issues under Arsenal manager Mikel Arteta. During his final months at Arsenal, Arteta removed Aubameyang’s captaincy following disciplinary breaches. The Gunners subsequently terminated the Striker’s contract, who proceeded to join Barcelona in January. He returned to the Premier League with a move to Chelsea, 6 months later.
Recently, a video emerged of Aubameyang criticizing Arteta, saying that he does not know how to handle ‘big players‘.
Paul Merson’s statements about Cristiano Ronaldo
Regarding the current situation with Ronaldo, Merson said:
“Cristiano Ronaldo storming down the tunnel and even leaving Old Trafford early is a big thing for Erik ten Hag now. In fact, it is huge. You don’t walk down the tunnel during a match, it’s just a no-go. I did it once before away at Huddersfield in the cup and I don’t think I played again for two months. Mine was slightly different as the tunnel was right next to the dugout, so it was only an extra five seconds. But Ronaldo’s was a walk and a half.”
“Surely along the way his brain says to him, ‘this isn’t right, you’ve been around far too long to do this. Given he also threw a strop after being subbed against Newcastle, this has now become a real statement sequence of events. It’s almost like the Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang saga with Mikel Arteta at Arsenal. There were a lot of young kids at the game on Wednesday that look up to one of the greatest players to ever play football. They will be watching it with the mindset of ‘if he can get away with that, we can all get away with it’.”
“I think this now works perfectly for Ten Hag. He’s had a right result because it’s his chance to stamp his authority on the dressing room. He can throw down the gauntlet to the rest of his young players. And make it clear that he is the man in charge.”
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