Cristiano Ronaldo's furious reaction to being substituted by Manchester United interim boss Ralf Rangnick would not have come as a surprise by Andrea Pirlo.
Rangnick took the decision to bring Ronaldo off for Harry Maguire with the Reds two goals to the good against Brentford, a move which seemingly worked as United saw out a 3-1 victory.
For Pirlo, it would have brought back memories of the time the pair shared together at Juventus as player and coach. For the legendary Italian last February bringing Ronaldo off against Inter Milan.
“There is no contract clause that says he can’t be subbed off,” Pirlo said after the game, via GiveMeSport.
“He knows he is a fundamental player for us but to get his breath back, he must always be at the top."
Ronaldo helped the Old Lady on course to their Coppa Italia triumph with his brace in the semi-final against Antonio Conte's side.
But on Wednesday, Ronaldo cut a frustrated figure against the Bees as he was subbed with the Reds seemingly cruising to victory and was seen to mouth "why did he take me off?" to the coaching staff.
It was Ronaldo's first game back, lasting 71 minutes, after missing their two clashes with Aston Villa through injury, Rangnick cautious with the attacker - who turns 37 in February.
He was later seen in discussions with Rangnick, who saw his change justified as Marcus Rashford raced through firing into the roof of the net beyond Jonas Lossl.
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