Cristiano Ronaldo's latest falling-out with a manager is far from his first, but the repercussions could end up being more severe.
The Portugal international took some of the attention away from Manchester United's victory over Tottenham in the Premier League when he was spotted storming down the tunnel with minutes left to play. After it emerged that he reportedly refused to come on as a substitute, United issued a statement confirming he won't be part of the squad for this weekend's game against Chelsea.
On top of that, Ronaldo is expected to be fined a sum in the region of £1m after manager Erik ten Hag pledged to deal with the situation behind closed doors. The forward has had run-ins with other managers in the past, but the fallout has rarely been this severe.
"As I’ve always done throughout my career, I try to live and play respectfully towards my colleagues, my adversaries and my coaches," Ronaldo said in a statement on Thursday. "That hasn’t changed. I haven’t changed. I’m the same person and the same professional that I’ve been for the last 20 years playing elite football, and respect has always played a very important role in my decision making process.
"I started very young, the older and most experienced players examples were always very important to me. Therefore, later on, 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 get’s the best of us [sic].
"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."
It remains to be seen whether this is the end of the latest drama involving Ronaldo. For now, though, Mirror Football has taken a look at some of the other confrontations he has had with managers in the past, either at Old Trafford or elsewhere.
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Alex Ferguson
While there were some high points last season, it's difficult to argue with the statement that Ronaldo's best Man Utd form came during his first spell under Sir Alex Ferguson. Even then, though, it wasn't always plain sailing.
Back in 2009, Ronaldo was coming off the back of a season in which he helped United win the Premier League and Champions League. At that point, he clearly hated missing any part of any game, and this was at the heart of a disagreement with the manager.
After Ferguson withdrew Ronaldo during a Manchester derby, with a view to keeping him fresh with the Champions League final around the corner the forward threw his tracksuit top to the ground in frustration. Former United striker Dwight Yorke called the behaviour "uncalled for and out of order," while there was a similar reaction to comparable behaviour from Ronaldo in 2021.
Ferguson didn't make the same mistake in either of the next two league games, giving him the full 90 minutes against Wigan and Arsenal, and the Portuguese also started against Barcelona in the European final. However, that did not stop him from leaving for Real Madrid that same summer.
Paulo Bento
The disagreements haven't only been at club level. Ronaldo stormed off the pitch while on Euro 2012 duty with Portugal, prompting national coach Paulo Bento to speak out.
"If any Portuguese fan was upset with that situation, then it is my job to apologise to them, as a leader of the group," Bento said. "But you have to understand that not everybody shows the same reactions in these situations."
Ronaldo kept his place in the side despite the controversy, and scored important goals against the Netherlands and the Czech Republic to lead Portugal into the semi-finals. However, after opting to take the fifth and final spot-kick in a shoot-out against Spain, misses from Joao Moutinho and Bruno Alves meant the game was lost before he had a chance to step up.
Jose Mourinho
Two of Portuguese football's biggest exports spent some big years together in Spain And, while there was some success with Real Madrid, there were also disputes.
The wheels fell off for manager Mourinho towards the end of his time in charge of Los Blancos, as he fell out with a number of players. One of those was Ronaldo, as the boss would later explain.
"Ronaldo has had three fantastic seasons with me," Mourinho told Punto Pelota. (via the Star ). We found a tactical set-up where he got the best out of himself and scored a lot of goals. I had one problem with him, though,"
"When I criticised him from a tactical point of view because I felt he could still improve, he did not accept what I had to say. That might be because he thinks he already knows everything and the coach cannot help him grow anymore."
Ultimately, Ronaldo outlasted Mourinho at the Bernabeu. In the five seasons after Mourinho left, Real Madrid won the Champions League four times.
Rafa Benitez
Benitez was not at Real Madrid quite as long as Mourinho, but he still felt Ronaldo's wrath. A first interaction between the pair set the tone, and things didn't improve after that.
The former Liverpool boss later had some qualified praise for the star, saying "He is excellent. He is one of the best and I can’t say the best I’ve coached because I have coached some really good players."
Midway through Benitez's first season. Ronaldo reportedly warned that the club would win nothing under Benitez. It would be the manager's last season, too, with Zinedine Zidane replacing the Spaniard and proceeding to secure the Champions League trophy.
Maurizio Sarri
Sarri lasted just one season as Juventus manager, but his run-ins with Ronaldo were well-documented. Things came to a head in November 2019 as the frontman showed his frustration upon being substituted in a game against Lokomotiv Moscow, but Sarri claimed the player was angry at having picked up an injury.
"Over the last month Cristiano has had this knee problem, he had a knock in training and it hurt the collateral ligament," Sarri said after the player was also withdrawn early in the following game against AC Milan. "When he trains at or plays, it unbalances him, so he ends up overcompensating and it damages the calf and thigh muscles. It is affecting his performances."
Despite Ronaldo attracting attention for reportedly leaving the stadium early, Ronaldo later said the manager was right. "In the last three weeks I have been limited," Ronaldo said.
"Everyone knows that I don't like to be substituted, but there was no problem in my gestures after the change. I tried to help Juventus by playing injured. No one likes to be replaced, but I understand it, because I wasn't well in those two games. I wasn't 100%."
Andrea Pirlo
Sarri's Juventus successor Pirlo also had some run-ins with Ronaldo. In his case, decisions to substitute and even omit the player were at the core of it.
Pirlo questioned Ronaldo's role in a defensive wall in April 2021, and later benched the star for a key Serie A game against Bologna. Some damage had arguably been done earlier, though, with the manager withdrawing Ronaldo when he was on a hat-trick in a Coppa Italia game.
“There is no contract clause that says he can't be subbed off," Pirlo said. "He knows he is a fundamental player for us but to get his breath back, he must always be at the top.
“He proved it with his performances after some criticism. He couldn’t have done better than that. I said [to him] that he had to rest, we have an important match on Saturday. He has played many consecutive games, every now and then a little rest is good for him.”
Pirlo didn't last beyond the 2020-21 season, but Ronaldo wasn't around much longer. The veteran left for Man Utd just days into the following campaign.
Fernando Santos
While Ronaldo has broken all kinds of records at international level, there have also been disagreements. After Bento in 2012, there was a more recent run-in with current Portugal boss Santos.
In 2021, when Portugal failed to qualify automatically for the 2022 World Cup, Ronaldo's frustration was plain to see. Ronaldo was seen shouting in Santos' direction after the defeat against Serbia, and he headed for the tunnel after a frosty handshake.
The veteran was still involved in March as Portugal looked to get past Turkey and North Macedonia for a spot in Qatar. While Ronaldo played the full 180 minutes as they completed the job, he wasn't able to score in either game.
Ralf Rangnick
During his interim tenure at Manchester United, Ralf Rangnick wasn't afraid to do what he wanted with the bigger characters in the squad. Ronaldo, clearly, was no exception.
The manager had only been in the job for a few weeks when he withdrew Ronaldo in a league game against Brentford. The top scorer was visibly frustrated, and the details would emerge soon after.
"When we scored a third I said this exactly to him: 'I know you're ambitious to score but maybe in two years' time when you are a head coach like me and in the same position you'll understand,'" Rangnick said.
"I didn’t expect him to hug me after being substituted," the former RB Leipzig boss added. "I have no issues whatsoever with Cristiano. I’ve been here six weeks and never had any issue with him – none whatsoever."
Rangnick's stint didn't end brilliantly, but it did still include two hat-tricks from Ronaldo before the German's time in charge came to an end. A change of manager hasn't brought a better rapport for the forward, though, if recent displays under Erik ten Hag are anything to go by.
