Erik ten Hag's comments about Cristiano Ronaldo after the Manchester Derby provoked plenty of reaction. Ronaldo was an unused substitute, with Ten Hag justifying his decision for him not to feature by saying: "I wouldn't bring him on out of respect for Cristiano, his big career."
They were quotes that promptly did the rounds and drew up lots of debate. It is understandable in some regards that Ten Hag wouldn't bring Ronaldo on - he is a player already very much in the spotlight and it wouldn't be the easiest of situations if he was introduced to the fray with circumstances so trying.
Albeit it was certainly a strange thing for Ten Hag to front up and say to the media. The utterances gave indications that his decision was very much about saving face on Ronaldo's side, which doesn't necessarily promote equal treatment within the squad. It seems an almost ludicrous suggestion that a player should be exempt from facing difficult situations in matches purely because they have had a successful career.
In fairness, maybe it wasn't what Ten Hag was actually thinking. He still isn't the most adept at facing the press having moved from a more minor league, while it is completely ordinary that managers say particular (alternative) things in order to protect decisions and players in front of the television cameras.
After all, Ten Hag has grown renowned for being a manager that disregards any sort of individuality and operates from an ethos that the team very much comes first and foremost. And this has already evidently been the case at Manchester United this season, which makes his comments after the derby all the more puzzling.
Ten Hag has definitely proven that his team selections have been made irrespective of players' statuses, with Ronaldo and former Real Madrid team-mate Casemiro having to settle for regular spots on the bench at present. The stature of certain individuals has blatantly, and often not wrongly, been disregarded, and those showing form - for example Scott McTominay - have been rewarded with consistent starting berths.
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Converse to Ten Hag implying that it would have been somewhat disrespectful to introduce Ronaldo in the second half against Manchester City, many argued that not starting or even featuring Ronaldo is disrespectful. But, again, the point is easily flawed. If a player isn't deserving of a place in the side, then why should they feature in the biggest matches?
It is likely that the genuine reason behind Ronaldo not being substituted on at the Etihad is due to the fact that Ten Hag saw other options as better options. And, ultimately, his choice to bring Anthony Martial on instead proved correct as the Frenchman scored a brace (even if it was in vain as United lost 6-3).
There is no doubt that it has been tough for Ronaldo to adapt under his new manager. There is a high chance that his lack of minutes is a major contributing factor, but he has looked devoid of sharpness for both club and country.
When he was granted a starting spot against Omonia Nicosia on the Thursday night following United's derby defeat, he showed a knack to pick up dangerous spaces and engineer opportunities for himself on a frequent basis, only to squander every chance that he had to score. His lack of end product and seeming low confidence in front of goal was to such an extent that he even managed to strike the post with a gaping goal in front of him.
It must be noted that he isn't flattering to deceive in every department. At least he maintains his ability to get into goal-scoring positions, also impressing with aspects of his game such as his movement - crucial as he provided a decoy run to create space for Marcus Rashford to level affairs in Cyprus.
Still, he is famous for his goals more than anything, and faith is diminishing that he will make things happen in front of goal. He is now even receiving criticism in his native Portugal, where he is nothing but a god-like figure to essentially the entire population.
To his credit, while he currently still seems a slight misfit in Ten Hag's system that relies highly on attacking fluidity, it is clear that Ronaldo is trying to adapt his game. He is attempting things such as dropping deep to link play, but it is painstakingly coming to no avail for the most-part in matches.
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It is fairly surprising that Ronaldo hasn't appeared to take his status as more of a bench player too badly. Given adverse reactions such as his sulking after being withdrawn away to Brentford last term, it does come as a bit of a shock that Ronaldo hasn't seemed too downbeat with regards to his more sporadic role. He isn't a player that usually settles for anything other than a big role, so this may be credit to Ten Hag's man management skills.
There were, of course, questions over Ronaldo's conduct in the summer; he left the club in the dark as to when he may return to training, with agent Jorge Mendes pushing for a move away for large parts of the transfer window. But since the season commenced and it became apparent that he would be staying, Ronaldo has seemed to act in a completely professional manner.
In his press conference prior to the Omonia meeting, in relation to Ronaldo, Ten Hag admitted: "He is not happy that he wasn't playing on Sunday, don't get me wrong. But that wasn't the question. The question was what he is like on the training pitch and what his mood is around. He is happy. But of course, he wants to play, and he is p****d off when he is not playing, clearly."
It is completely understandable that Ronaldo is frustrated - any player without a regular role would be, plus he isn't used to playing so little. But it is wholly positive that he doesn't appear to be bringing the group down in any way.
And it isn't just Ten Hag saying this. Ronaldo genuinely does look content in footage from training. In training before travelling to Cyprus, he was pictured in good spirits and shown to be joking with team-mates. In one video, he nutmegged Lisandro Martinez and, in a light-hearted manner, celebrated incessantly.
Contrary to some derogatory reports, it would appear that he isn't remotely a hindering presence in the dressing room. Maybe his relaxed nature is due to being at ease with the fact that he is at United to stay for now, and possibly with, at the back of his mind, the confidence that he will get a move elsewhere come January or, more likely, the end of the season.
There have been some suggestions that Ten Hag would now be willing to allow Ronaldo to depart if a suitable offer was to arrive.
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Some of the most far-fetched suggestions have been from people, including Paul Scholes on BT Sport, saying that one of the most disrespectful things is playing Ronaldo in the Europa League. He may have built large parts of his legacy around being a Champions League icon, but, in the present, he is a member of a Europa League squad. Why should he be exempt from featuring?
Again, it comes a full circle to the idea that he has to be treated as any other player in the squad would be. And Ronaldo himself seems eager enough to get any game-time he can; against Omonia, his deficiencies didn't come as a result of a lack of effort in the slightest.
Suggestions that the whole transfer is a failure just because of the current demise are ill-thought. He was never going to be a long-term solution, and he proved the only real source of goals last season in a side otherwise struggling in attacking areas. There is the obvious caveat that he hindered the overall fluidity to certain degrees, but it is still tough to see where goals would have come from without any established goal-scorer if Ronaldo wasn't present.
Maybe the move wasn't particularly well-thought out from a project-building standpoint, with the sentimentality associated with the concept of Ronaldo's return taking predominant force. But the move happened, he served the club well last term, and he looks adamant to rectify a more difficult predicament at the moment.
The situation isn't ideal for any parties, but the most should be made of having one of football's greatest ever players still at the club. It remains clear that he feels he still has more to give in the game. And you never know, maybe he'll come up with the goods once more for United when the odds are firmly against him.
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