Sports & Fitness

Solskjaer says he denied Ronaldo's request to play

Portuguese was rested by the manager for the first time since returning when the Red Devils welcomed West Ham in the third round of the League Cup

Updated 5 years ago · Published on 25 Sep 2021 4:00PM

Solskjaer says he denied Ronaldo's request to play
Ole Gunnar Solskjaer wants his players to have enough rest so that they remain fresh. - AFP pic, September 25, 2021

OLE Gunnar Solskjaer has stated he refused Cristiano Ronaldo's request to feature in the third-round League Cup match against West Ham on Wednesday.

Instead the manager left the Portuguese completely out of the squad which the Red Devils lost 1-0. Also left out were David De Gea, Harry Maguire, Raphael Varane, Luke Shaw, Fred and Paul Pogba.

"Cristiano has come in and made a difference already, he wants to play as much as possible but I don't think it is possible," Solskjaer said.

Solskjaer said he had already made the decision last week with an eye on the Aston Villa game in the league today.

The manager does not want his players to be overworked by playing in too many matches and thus his decision.

Ronaldo is keen to pick up more silverware back at United, recently telling MUTV: "As I told you before, we have huge potential.

"We have fantastic players, a good coach, a good team. We need to build up the mentality to win the Premier League and even the Champions League," the No.7 stated.

The five-time Ballon d'Or winner believes the spirit is well alive at United with a good team.

"Together! Strong! Focused! Let’s go, Devils!" posted Ronaldo on his Instagram account.- Agencies, September 25, 2021

Spotlight

Malaysia

Bersama suspends Nik Nazmi from party activities for three months

Malaysia

‘We have better things to do than orchestrate khalwat raids’ - Amirudin

Malaysia

Social media posts ‘emerge’- defending Ismail after Tuanku Muhriz’s public rebuke

World

Trump’s Muhammad joke about Iran presidency falls flat at Georgia rally

Health

Haze can cause life-threatening lung inflammation in cats and dogs, vet warns

World

Australia detects deadly H5N1 bird flu on Macquarie Island, threatening elephant seals

Malaysia

Agong warns against using social media to spread hatred, insult others

Malaysia

Nik Nazmi acknowledges he is the individual detained by JAIS

You may be interested

Sports & Fitness

Zi Yu-Genevie end Malaysia’s 34-year wait for world junior doubles title