Cristiano Ronaldo's sister has aimed a dig at Manchester United manager Erik ten Hag following his decision to sub off the five-time Ballon d'Or winner against Newcastle.
With the score goalless after 72 minutes at Old Trafford on Saturday afternoon, Ronaldo was replaced by Academy graduate Marcus Rashford in the closing stages. United were unable to find a decisive breakthrough while Rashford passed up a golden opportunity in the dying embers, one Ronaldo might have otherwise buried.
Naturally, given his status within the game, Ronaldo being reduced to a bit-part role by Ten Hag this campaign has drawn widespread attention. Playing second fiddle to Rashford and Anthony Martial - when fit - the Portugal striker has only played 340 minutes in the Premier League across eight appearances.
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Ronaldo netted the winner against Everton when replacing Martial off the bench, but he did not feature for the 90 minutes when Newcastle visited Old Trafford on Saturday afternoon. When explaining his decision, Ten Hag said he wanted to keep the 37-year-old fresh for upcoming games, which are coming thick and fast.
United welcome Tottenham to the same venue on Wednesday night before their impending showdown vs Chelsea. All the while, there are still question marks over Martial's fitness.
Having expressed a desire to leave this summer - when Ten Hag was appointed - the relationship between Ronaldo and his manager was always going to come under the microscope this season. However, according to his sister Elma Aveiro, the Dutchman has simply been making excuses for his treatment.
Before he was hooked off against Newcastle, the former Real Madrid and Juventus striker was overlooked entirely during the Manchester derby. In a now deleted Instagram story, Aveiro vented her frustration at Ten Hag by posting a news story entitled; 'Erik Ten Hag's justification for substituting Cristiano Ronaldo'.
She added two 'vomit' emojis and a short caption, which read: "Ja vai tarde." That directly translates to 'already late', hinting that it is too late for an explanation.
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