Rangnick  warns Ronaldo, other Man United stars

The coach insists that the club is bigger than any individual players

Rangnick  warns Ronaldo, other Man United stars
Rangnick Manchester United

Manchester United manager Ralf Rangnick has defended his decision to withdraw Cristiano Ronaldo in the second half of the 3-1 victory against Brentford, emphasising the need to put the team ahead of individuals.

Ronaldo, 36, was substituted with United 2-0 up and the forward responded by throwing his jacket down on the bench and continued to ask “why me?” as play went on.

Rangnick, the Manchester United interim manager, had opted to switch to a back-five formation, and his decision was rewarded, with substitute Marcus Rashford scoring in the 77th minute to add to goals from fellow academy graduates Anthony Elanga and Mason Greenwood. Ivan Toney scored a late consolation for Brentford.

 “He was asking, ‘Why me, why do you take me off?’ ” Rangnick said. “I said to him, ‘Listen I have to take the decision in the interest of the team and the club.’ 

We had actually the same situation five days ago at Villa Park, 2-0 up with 15 minutes to play, and of course, we didn’t want to make the same mistake [drawing 2-2] again.

“I decided to switch to a back five with Harry Maguire and bring on Marcus [Rashford] as another fast winger on the right-hand side and I think it was the right decision. Cristiano was not happy, he is a goalscorer [and] he would’ve wished to stay on and maybe score a goal himself but for us, it was more important to be compact and make sure we have enough legs and strong headers to defend their free kicks and set pieces.”

Rangnick was seen continuing to discuss the situation with Ronaldo in the aftermath of Rashford’s finish, with the manager explaining the reasons behind his decision to substitute him.

“When we scored the third goal I said exactly that to him, ‘Look, Cristiano, I understand that you are still ambitious, you want to score yourself but maybe in a couple of years when you are a  head coach yourself you will hopefully take the same decision that I [did] today after 70 minutes.’

“I didn’t expect him to hug me about being substituted. I have to make my decisions in the interest of the club. I have no issues whatsoever with Cristiano.”