Cristiano Ronaldo was absent from the Manchester United squad that assembled on Friday night ahead of the weekend’s clash with Leicester.
The 37-year-old was out on international duty last week with Portugal, playing 180 minutes to help his country qualify for this winter’s World Cup in Qatar.
His compatriot Bruno Fernandes was among the 21 players who gathered at the Lowry Hotel, as was captain Harry Maguire, who has had a difficult week after he was booed by England supporters during their international friendly with the Ivory Coast.
The reception Maguire received has been a main talking point ever since, with a number of players taking to social media to question why England supporters would boo him, and United caretaker manager Ralf Rangnick adding weight to that notion. on Friday admitting he was shocked by what he saw at Wembley.
“He knows my position towards him, he has been a very valuable player, and the captain of the team and the club, and also my captain,” Rangnick said in his press conference. “I didn’t understand what was happening at Wembley, but I’m pretty sure it won’t happen at our stadium with the Red Army behind the team and the club behind the captain as well.
“He is a very important player. He has been playing well for Manchester United and for England in recent years. Gareth Southgate said something after the match and Harry Kane. I didn’t watch the game, but I heard what had happened before the game.” game there after the starting eleven was announced. Hard to understand.
“I don’t speak to them in person, but I’m pretty sure this won’t happen in our stadium. For it to happen in an international match before an international match is quite unusual.”
As for Ronaldo, his relationship with Rangnick has been questioned at times, most notably when he was left out of the squad for the 4-1 derby loss to Manchester City at the Etihad Stadium.
However, he bounced back from that omission to score an impressive hat-trick in United’s last Premier League outing, a 3-2 win over Tottenham at Old Trafford.
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