Manchester United players were reportedly surprised that Cristiano Ronaldo was not present for the Manchester City game at the Etihad Stadium yesterday.
The Portugal international picked up an injury that ruled him out of the Manchester derby, and it seems he quickly flew out of the country to take a quick break, according to The Athletic.
Ronaldo’s presence would apparently have been welcomed for the City clash, however, with the feeling being that his aura might have made a difference for such a big game, according to The Athletic’s report.
Man Utd ended up losing 4-1 to Pep Guardiola’s side, who were by far the better team throughout the game.
It is therefore slightly hard to imagine how much of a difference Ronaldo could realistically have made, whether he’d been on the pitch or even just on the bench to cheer on his team-mates.
The 37-year-old has had a decent season in his second spell with the Red Devils, but his form has tailed off a bit in the second half of the campaign, and it’s not clear how he’d have been able to make Ralf Rangnick’s game plan work against City.
It’s far from ideal, however, that he didn’t help his fellow players out when they seemingly felt they needed him, pointing to a generally bad mood inside the dressing room at United right now.