Ralf Rangnick's blunt summary of Cristiano Ronaldo's antics the last time Manchester United played Brentford may have actually inspired a shift in attitude from the Portuguese superstar.
The 37-year-old has often been accused of lacking some of the qualities that make up a good 'team player', with a sulk or on-pitch outburst at a teammate seemingly never that far away.
The five-time Ballon d'Or winner is used to winning the game's biggest honours - something United look further away from doing than ever before currently.
At the start of his second stint at Old Trafford, whenever things weren't exactly going to plan Ronaldo cut an incredibly frustrated figure - which was understandable to an extent, but with the spotlight he commands any show of annoyance was magnified and lead to talks of dressing room rifts.
Due to United's abysmal form under Ole Gunnar Solskjaer, Ronaldo was furious most matches. The 4-2 defeat away at Leicester City sparked a stroppy reaction, in which the ex-Juventus star ignored the club's travelling faithful and headed straight down the tunnel after the full-time whistle.
Things came to a head against Brentford at the turn of the calendar year, when the former Real Madrid man failed to hide his fury at being substituted by Rangnick while the Red Devils were 2-0 up with just 20 minutes left to play.
Ronaldo snatched a jacket from a member of backroom staff before throwing it to the floor, while refusing to take a seat in the dugout and instead watching the remainder of the game sat on some steps. Thankfully, United held on to register a 3-1 victory in West London.
HAVE YOUR SAY! Has Ronaldo been a positive influence on United's dressing room? Comment below
After the game, Rangnick conceded he was not best pleased with the manner in which Ronaldo conducted himself after his number went up.
"I don’t blame him for that but obviously any manager would wish it shouldn’t be too emotional and also in front of the TV cameras I don’t think this will be for the benefit of anyone: not to his benefit or teammates," the former RB Leipzig boss claimed.
However, since then Ronaldo has managed to continue his heroics in front of goal while also curbing his temper tantrums. That's not to suggest United's wider fortunes have improved, but the Portugal skipper has behaved in a way far more beneficial to the morale and optics around the club.
The relentless rumours of Ronaldo taking the armband off of club captain Harry Maguire eventually lead to speculation that the 37-year-old had irked certain sections of the squad, including Marcus Rashford. United's number seven swiftly responded by uploading a picture of himself alongside Rashford to quash any talk of a rift.
Champions League qualification looks increasingly like it it set to elude United this term, but if Ronaldo is willing to spend another term at Old Trafford without European football - he is playing like a man who could spend his final campaign at the club going someway to restoring United to their former glories.
