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Daily Mirror
Daily Mirror
Sport
Tom Victor

Cristiano Ronaldo's six most petulant tantrums after Man Utd incident at Brentford

Cristiano Ronaldo has regularly been praised for his professionalism, especially since returning to Manchester United, but the forward's strop during the win at Brentford demonstrated he can sometimes let the mask slip.

The veteran was spotted throwing a strop on the bench after being substituted during the 3-1 victory, his first game back after missing the draw at Aston Villa through injury.

Ralf Rangnick's team still won the game, with their third goal coming from substitute Marcus Rashford after Ronaldo's withdrawal.

It is far from the first time Ronaldo has thrown his toys out of the pram after a frustrating moment, and Mirror Football has looked at a few other examples, some of which show the team's result has occasionally been secondary to his personal frustrations.

Should Cristiano Ronaldo start on Saturday? Have your say in the comments section

Ronaldo was frustrated after being substituted against Brentford (REUTERS)

Manchester United 2-0 Manchester City, 2009

Ronaldo ended his first Manchester United spell with a league title and a run to the Champions League final, but it didn't all go swimmingly.

During the run-in, the Portugal international put United ahead in the Manchester Derby, but was withdrawn before the hour mark with Sir Alex Ferguson's team two ahead of their neighbours.

He responded by throwing his tracksuit top onto the ground, his own way of showing his irritation with the decision, before eventually taking his spot on the sidelines.

"When you look at what is happening at United - going for the title and in the Champions League final - everything is great," former United striker Dwight Yorke said of the incident.

"Then you get someone behaving like that. To throw away his tracksuit top and huff and puff is uncalled for and out of order, there is no need."

Real Madrid v Las Palmas, 2016

Ronaldo had scored the winning penalty for Zinedine Zidane's Real Madrid in the 2016 Champions League final, but was not delighted with his manager just four months later.

He had scored in his first two appearances of the season, but back-to-back games without a goal wasn't something he was used to after scoring 51 goals in 48 games the season before.

Zidane decided to take off an under-par Ronaldo away to Las Palmas, with Madrid leading the game but their star man not having his best game, prompting an angry response from the forward with claims he had sworn at the Frenchman.

The manager attempted to play down the situation, however, saying "He always wants to be on the pitch. We have to take him out sometimes, and we did today. It does not change anything."

"We are playing on Tuesday and Cristiano must rest too sometimes. It was just for that."

Sure enough, Ronaldo found the net in the next game, opening the scoring away to Borussia Dortmund in the Champions League, and Zidane made sure to keep him on the pitch for the full 90.

Ronaldo was withdrawn by Zidane in a 2-2 draw (Getty Images)

Levante v Real Madrid, 2018

It appeared Zidane had changed his tune during the 2017-18 season, going a full eight months without subbing Ronaldo off.

All runs come to an end, though, and in this case the game in question came away to Levante in February 2018... and again Real Madrid were made to pay.

Ronaldo made way shortly after Isco had put Zidane's men ahead, storming off along the touchline as the cameras followed him.

"Don't film me, focus on the game!" he said as photographers turned their attention to matters away from the pitch.

Once again, the team failed to close out the game, conceding a late equaliser to Giampaolo Pazzini, and Ronaldo's response was to score a hat-trick in the very next game.

Real Madrid conceded a late equaliser after Ronaldo's withdrawal (X01080)

Lokomotiv Moscow v Juventus 2019

Withdrawing Ronaldo with a lead to protect is one thing, but it is quite another to take him off when chasing a game.

Maurizio Sarri has often been prepared to stand up to big names, though, and Ronaldo was hooked in a Champions League group game in Moscow with Juventus level and their record signing sitting on one goal from four European games.

Ronaldo looked visibly unhappy to leave the field for Paulo Dybala, but Sarri will feel he got some vindication when one of his other subs, Douglas Costa, scored a last-gasp winner.

" Cristiano Ronaldo was angry because he's not okay," Sarri said after the game.

"He's had a niggle in his knee for the past few days, which is overloading his thigh, which tires out too much.

"At the break he was already worried about it. Then, when I saw him make a movement I didn't like when he was accelerating I took him off because I was scared that he might do himself real harm."

Sarri took Ronaldo off with the scores all-square (REUTERS)

Juventus v AC Milan, 2019

While Ronaldo has responded to other frustrations by pulling out a big performance in the very next game, that was not the case in November 2019.

Not only did Ronaldo draw another blank against Milan just days after the win in Moscow, but he was taken off with less than an hour on the clock.

He was spotted going straight down the tunnel after being withdrawn for Paulo Dybala against Milan, and reports at the time suggested he left the Allianz Stadium early.

“Disrespectful to his teammates? Like I said, I don’t know,” Sarri said, adding “If it’s true that he left before the end it is a problem to be resolved with his teammates.”

This time, though, it was Ronaldo's turn to defuse the situation, with the forward saying "No one likes to be replaced, but I understand it, because I wasn't well in those two games. I wasn't 100%."

Ronaldo reportedly left the stadium early during the Milan game (REUTERS)

Inter Milan v Juventus, 2021

Sarri isn't the only Juve manager to incur the wrath of Ronaldo, and even a club legend like Andrea Pirlo wasn't safe.

Ronaldo had scored both goals to give the team from Turin a half-time lead against Inter in the Coppa Italia semi-final, and everyone knows how much he loves scoring hat-tricks.

The chance of a third wasn't enough for Pirlo to keep him on, though, with the manager introducing Alvaro Morata for the final 13 minutes.

When Ronaldo saw his number come up, he did a poor job hiding his emotions before leaving the field.

Pirlo felt compelled to deny the presence of a clause in Ronaldo's contract regarding substitutions when explaining his decision after the victory.

"I said [to him] that he had to rest, we have an important match on Saturday," the Italian explained.

"He has played many consecutive games, every now and then a little rest is good for him.”

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