The Portuguese continues his battle with everyone and everything at United, damaging his legacy as one of the best footballers in history.
It seemed difficult, but he has succeeded. Erik ten Hag may not be the coach who deserves to sit in the Old Trafford dugout, but Cristiano Ronaldo is giving the manager and his many critics in England cause for concern in what has been a sad and painful time for both the 37-year old and a Manchester Untied team that, until the last decade, dominated the Premier League and was admired around the world.
CR7 is making a lot of mistakes. All of them brought about by his decision in 2018 to take a dig at Florentino Perez which has resulted in a constant search for the paradise he had in Real Madrid and the city of Madrid. First it was Juventus and then United, the teams chosen in his attempt to make his successful career bigger.
Cristiano’s downfall
His ambition led him down the wrong path and although Ten Hag has issued constant threats since his arrival on the United bench, the striker has disrespected both the fans and his teammates.
Cristiano Ronaldo is a role model for many. Children and adults, professional footballers and simple amateurs have long held the player up as a hero. The Portuguese has confused his voracity and winning instinct with a selfishness beyond the limits of acceptability.
He may have been right in some of his protests after decisions that were difficult to understand, but the educational importance of idols like him should not be forgotten.
Incidentally, in the last two years there has been speculation at different times about his possible return. Real Madrid have not at any time considered his possible return. The story ended in 2018 and no one is thinking of reopening the door.
Destroying his finale
He has apologised, in a gesture that speaks well of him, but he should not give reasons to all those who are waiting for him at every step he takes. The battle at United is lost for him. His career does not deserve such an end, his at-times whimsical behaviour does.
Before the Ten Hag show we already wrote that his career deserved a different final chapter, but he is determined to prove that this is not the case.
He wants to go on until he is 40, but if he has already struggled to find a place away from United in the past year, this latest episode will make it even more difficult, even impossible.
In a month he has the World Cup, the last great opportunity to ingratiate himself and, incidentally, all those fans he has disappointed.