Cristiano Ronaldo: Gary Neville tells Ole Gunnar Solskjaer to ‘have a word’ with forward over Everton reaction

The Manchester United forward showed his frustration as he went straight down the tunnel following Saturday’s 1-1 draw

Sports Staff
Monday 04 October 2021 11:02 BST
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Ole Gunnar Solskjaer should speak with Cristiano Ronaldo as the forward’s frustrated reaction to his side’s 1-1 draw with Everton only served to put further pressure on the Manchester United manager, according to Gary Neville.

Ronaldo shook his head as he stormed down the tunnel at full time at Old Trafford on Saturday after he started the match on the bench.

Solskjaer said he did not regret the decision to start Ronaldo among the substitutes for the Premier League fixture, even though the draw added more pressure to the under-fire United boss.

Former Manchester United defender Neville said Ronaldo’s anger at full time posed further questions, and urged Solskjaer to “have a word” with the Portuguese star to ensure that is doesn’t happen again.

Speaking on the Gary Neville podcast, he said: ”I watched him walk off and I can’t say I like it. Actions like that - and Cristiano is smart enough to know this - will bring real pressure on the manager, more pressure than Ole Gunnar Solskjaer is already under.

“I think that is something that just has to be managed in the next couple of months. Cristiano is not always going to score, he’s maybe not going to play every single game.

“But I think if he walks off like that, it’s going to put immense pressure on Solskjaer. There’s no doubt the talk after the game was about the manager.

“I think he has to look after himself, Ole, be selfish and make sure he manages Cristiano is such a way - and he will do, he’s managed Paul Pogba for the last couple of years pretty well.

“I think he will have a word with Cristiano and say, ‘Look, come on, if you’re going to do that, let’s do in in the changing room’.

“Ultimately, you doing that on the pitch brings extra pressure, he does have that reputation and I don’t think it would have helped Ole in that situation.

“But on the other hand, Cristiano is not a sheep either, he’s not just going to follow and not show anything, he will demonstrate his dislike and lack of happiness with that situation.”

Last week, Solskjaer responded to Neville’s claim that he must win a trophy in the next 18 months to justify the club’s spending this summer on Ronaldo, Raphael Varane and Jadon Sancho.

The Manchester United manager insisted “pressure is a privilege” and although the 2-1 win over Villarreal in the Champions League ended the club’s two-match losing run, further dropped points in the Premier League ensures that the Norwegian faces a crucial run of fixtures after the international break, with matches against Liverpool and Manchester City in the next month.

“When I said last week it was make or break for Ole, he knows that, he said that in his press conference,” Neville added.

“I think he recognises you have to win a trophy when you’re three or four years in and have players like that.”

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