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Cristiano Ronaldo once highlighted his eagerness to play every minute by responding furiously to being substituted during a game at Brentford. A few months into his turbulent second spell at Manchester United, Ronaldo had already witnessed a managerial change, with Ole Gunnar Solskjaer getting the axe and Ralf Rangnick taking charge on an interim basis. In January 2022, with United leading 2-0 at Brentford, the Portuguese superstar was withdrawn for Marcus Rashford after 71 minutes. Ronaldo struggled to accept the call, appearing furious as he trudged off while seemingly voicing his displeasure to his boss. However, Rangnick had no issues with Ronaldo's annoyance, maintaining he was prepared to discuss the move with the forward. The German coach quipped: "I didn't expect him to hug me after being substituted." He added: "He was asking why me, 'Why do you take me off?' I said, 'Listen, I have to take the decision in the interest of the team and the club. We had exactly the same situation five days ago at Villa Park, being 2-0 up with 15 minutes to play [Villa came back to draw 2-2], and we didn't want to make the same mistake again.'" "I decided to switch to a back five with Harry Maguire and bring on Marcus as another fast winger on the right-hand side, and I think it was the right decision. "Cristiano was not happy. He's a goalscorer, he wished to stay on and maybe score himself. But, for us, it was more important to be compact." Rangnick's call proved spot on as Rashford netted the crucial third goal before Brentford managed a late consolation. He responded to that strike by offering Ronaldo some words of wisdom, revealing: "When we scored the third, I said exactly that to him. I said, 'Look, Cristiano, I understand you're still ambitious and want to score yourself. Maybe in a couple of years, when you're a head coach yourself, you will hopefully take the same decision and be in the same role I was today after 75 minutes.'" Rangnick then emphasised there was no rift between him and his superstar player, insisting: "I have no issues whatsoever with Cristiano. He came back from a little injury, he didn't train for one-and-a-half weeks, and being 2-0 up with 15 minutes to play, having players like Marcus on the bench and even Anthony Martial, why should I not make use of that? "And that's why I would always do it again in a situation like that. I've been here now for six weeks, I've never had any kind of issue with Cristiano." Their working relationship proved short-lived , as Rangnick departed the club by mutual agreement the following March. Ronaldo, who is still playing at 40, also left Old Trafford later that year following his explosive interview with Piers Morgan , in which he criticised how the club was run. United visit Brentford in Saturday's lunchtime kick-off, hoping to improve on their poor recent record at the Gtech Community Stadium. United have lost two of their last three visits, drawing the other. Their last victory there was the aforementioned match involving Ronaldo. Join our new MAN UTD WhatsApp community and receive your daily dose of Manchester United content from Mirror Football. We also treat our community members to special offers, promotions, and adverts from us and our partners. If you don't like our community, you can check out any time you like. If you're curious, you can read our Privacy Notice.
