Cristiano Ronaldo is back in training at Manchester United. After his rejection in the final stages of the game against Tottenham Hotspur (2-0 win), he was taken out of the selection by his coach Erik ten Hag.

This decision caused a stir in England: should Ten Hag have treated a world star like Ronaldo like this? Ten Hag himself was well aware on Friday, just before the Chelsea game, that the Portuguese star was absent.

“We will miss him terribly tomorrow,” said the coach. “But it is important for the image of the group. When you play in a team sport, you have to uphold certain standards and values. I have to take care of her.”

Statement Ronaldo

Ronaldo is back in the lead ahead of Thursday’s game against Sheriff Tiraspol in the Europa League. He has been training individually for the past few days.

Last week, Ronaldo released a statement on his social media channels addressing Ten Hag’s decision. “I started as a very young player. The older, more experienced footballers have always been important role models for me,” he wrote.

“That’s why I later tried to be a role model for the younger players at the clubs I played for. Unfortunately, this is not always possible and sometimes it takes time the heat of the moment the upper hand.”

In addition to Ronaldo, Donny van de Beek was also on the training ground at United. The midfielder is back from injury.