Cristiano Ronaldo left the AMEX Stadium separately from his Manchester United teammates following their 4-0 loss to Brighton on Saturday.
Club sources say that he wasn’t the only player to not travel back with teammates on the coach after the game, as the squad have allocated days off. However, talk from security personnel suggested a different story.
It doesn’t paint a good image for Ronaldo, who was hailed at full-time by United fans who minutes earlier were telling his team-mates that they were ‘not fit to wear the shirt’. He preached about the team attaining the correct mindset back in January.
He said: “We have to have the right mentality. I look at myself and I say 'Cristiano, what can you do better to improve your level to help the team? Yes, I can improve other things'.
“Maybe to sprint for 90 minutes, if something happens, to help your teammate if they are suffering or are tired, the small details during the game, to be smart, to be intelligent.
"All the games are different, all the players are different, the systems, the stadiums so you have to be capable and ready when you suffer, when you struggle in a game, to be compact, to want for your teammates and be a team.
"For me, this is why they call this team Manchester 'United'. So we have to be united in the difficult moments."
It could be argued that Ronaldo’s solitary exit out of Brighton at the weekend contradicted his own "united" mantra. The disjointed harmony in the dressing room has clearly filtered onto the pitch, and this will do little to allay fans' fears.
Ronaldo was seen shaking his head in disbelief and laughing when Brighton knocked in their third and fourth goals. He prides himself in helping his team-mates and being professional - he’s broken his own golden rule.
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