Cristiano Ronaldo reaction to Brentford substitution ‘too emotional’, says Ralf Rangnick

Manchester United interim boss Ralf Rangnick has warned Cristiano Ronaldo his reaction to being substituted in Wednesday’s win over Brentford was “too emotional”.

However, the German insisted he did not feel undermined by the forward’s behaviour.

Ronaldo was taken off on 71 minutes with United leading 2-0 and on their way to an eventual 3-1 victory, but was visibly frustrated at his withdrawal.

“I don’t blame him for that but obviously any manager would wish it shouldn’t be too emotional and also in front of the TV cameras I don’t think this will be for the benefit of anyone: not to his benefit or teammates,” Rangnick said. “It’s an emotional game and players are emotional and I didn’t take it personally at all.

“I didn’t at all see or interpret that he was challenging me. This was not the first time – if you have a look at the moment when Sir Alex [Ferguson] replaced him or other coaches, his reaction was pretty similar, which shows in the end it has got nothing to do with the manager. It’s about his own ambition and desire to stay on the pitch.

“It’s a team sport and for us it’s important for us that we get the most out of each game, the maximum points, and it’s a decision of each manager [regarding] what we need right now in order to win. I’m not somebody who says afterwards everything was perfect but in this case everything that I had hoped regarding the result of that decision was confirmed in the end.”