'I think Manchester United are just showing disrespect to Cristiano Ronaldo': Roy Keane

Legendary Manchester United midfielder Roy Keane has slammed his former club for disrespecting five-time Ballon d'Or winner Cristiano Ronaldo by continually leaving him on the bench. During the Manchester derby on Sunday, Ronaldo was surprisingly left on the bench for the entire 90 minutes despite his side suffering a disappointing 6-3 defeat against arch-rivals Manchester City.

Keane feels Man United are disrespecting Ronaldo

While speaking to Sky Sports after Manchester United's disappointing defeat to Manchester City, Roy Keane said, "I think Man United are just showing disrespect to Ronaldo. I think he should have been let go before the transfer window. I think the manager is holding on to him. Okay, you say you need options, but you don’t hold on to Ronaldo to sit on the bench. He’s one of the greatest players ever."

Manchester United coach Erik ten Hag did not bring Cristiano Ronaldo on the pitch despite his side losing 4-0 at half-time against arch-rivals Manchester City. While the scoreline for the Red Devils did get less embarrassing in the second half with Antony scoring a goal and Anthony Martial scoring a brace, a hat-trick each from Erling Haaland and Phil Foden was enough to ensure that the Citizens left the Etihad Stadium with all three points.

Despite a below-par performance from Manchester United in the first half, Ronaldo was left on the bench for the entire 90 minutes, a decision that Keane was not happy with. The former Red Devils star believes that if Ten Hag does not need the services of the Portuguese international, he should have let him leave during the summer.

"He had options (during the summer). This idea that he had no options is rubbish; he did have options, four or five very good options. The big picture is that he [Ten Hag] is not going to play Ronaldo. It’s just going to get uglier as the season goes on. United have shown nothing but disrespect to Ronaldo," concluded Keane.

Why was Cristiano Ronaldo left on the bench?

While speaking at his post-match press conference, Manchester United coach Erik ten Hag explained his decision to leave star forward Cristiano Ronaldo on the bench by stating, "I didn't bring him on out of respect for his big career. And the other thing, there was then the advantage I could bring Antony Martial on. He needs the minutes but I don't want to point it out like that."