adminLONDON. – Tim Sherwood has slammed Erik ten Hag for saying Cristiano Ronaldo ‘was his fifth choice captain’ and told the Dutchman to ‘keep his mouth shut.’
Manchester United were thumped 3-1 by Aston Villa on Sunday, with Ronaldo taking the captain’s armband for the game in the absence of club captain Harry Maguire and Bruno Fernandes.
The club legend failed to inspire his team to victory, hammering a free-kick into the wall, lamenting his frustrations to referee Anthony Taylor throughout and smashing a wild effort into the Holte End, summing up a difficult afternoon for the Red Devils.
Taking aim at the manager’s post match comments, Sherwood blasted Ten Hag claiming he needed to ‘keep his mouth shut’ and not brandish comments about who ranks where in the leadership standings.
“What basically he’s saying, he was fifth choice isn’t he?” the former Villa boss said to TalkSPORT.
“Why he has to justify why he’s given Cristiano Ronaldo the armband, I just don’t know. Just keep your mouth shut.”
Ronaldo’s fairytale homecoming has been overshadowed by a frustrating few seasons at United, with the 37-year-old expressing his desire to leave the club earlier this summer, having only joined the previous season.
His first stint at the club started under the stewardship of Sir Alex Ferguson in 2003 who nurtured the forward, helping him rise to become the greatest goal scorers of all time.
After winning several Premier League trophies and a European cup with the Red Devils, CR7 left for Real Madrid in 2009, where he established himself as their front man scoring 450 goals, before he left for Juventus in 2018.
And while United had seemed to find a bit of form, having not lost in their last five matches before Sunday’s defeat, Ten Hag blasted his team after the match for their poor decision making, trying to find Ronaldo in the box with ‘stupid’ crosses. -Mailonline.
Mathew Masinge
Online Reporter