Cristiano Ronaldo speaks out after storming off down the tunnel in ‘the heat of the moment’
"I’ve always tried to set the example myself for the youngsters that grew in all the teams that I’ve represented... unfortunately, that’s not always possible."
Cristiano Ronaldo has spoken out to address the moment he was seen storming off down the tunnel before the end of Manchester United‘s win over Tottenham earlier this week.
The red half of Manchester may be sitting in a somewhat respectable fifth place on the Premier League table at the time of writing, but the team’s impressive 2-0 win over high-flying Spurs on Wednesday night was still undoubtedly a relief for Red Devils’ fans watching on the night after a recent mixed run of matches.
The joyous occasion was, however, a bit marred for some fans by the fact star striker Ronaldo took the decision to head on down the tunnel before the game had even finished.
The Reds were already cruising home to victory thanks to goals from Fred and Bruno Fernandes.
But the 37-year-old striker appeared unhappy at his lack of playing time during the match, and while he should have been ready to welcome the rest of his teammates back into the dressing room after their convincing victory, he instead chose to get up from the bench and head for the Old Trafford exit in the 89th minute.
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Speaking after the match on Wednesday, manager Erik ten Hag said he would “deal with [Ronaldo] tomorrow” and that his focus for the time being was on celebrating the big win and recovering for their next game this Saturday.
Now, after much fan chatter and speculation about why he chose to exit the pitch early, the Portuguese player has taken to social media to speak out on the matter.
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Cristiano Ronaldo speaks out after storming off down the tunnel in ‘the heat of the moment’ / Credit: Cristiano Ronaldo (via Instagram)
Addressing the situation in a post to Instagram, Ronaldo said: “As I’ve always done throughout my career, I try to live and play respectfully towards my colleagues, my adversaries and my coaches. That hasn’t changed. I haven’t changed. I’m the same person and the same professional that I’ve been for the last 20 years playing elite football, and respect has always played a very important role in my decision making process.
“I started very young, the older and most experienced players examples were always very important to me. Therefore, later on, I’ve always tried to set the example myself for the youngsters that grew in all the teams that I’ve represented.
“Unfortunately that’s not always possible and sometimes the heat of the moment gets the best of us.
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“Right now, I just feel that I have to keep working hard in Carrington, support my teammates and be ready for everything in any given game.
“Giving in to the pressure is not an option. It never was. This is Manchester United, and united we must stand.
Since ten Hag was appointed manager of Manchester United, footballing veteran and all-time world-leading goalscorer Ronaldo has enjoyed significantly less time on the pitch than he is used to, and while he has scored a couple of goals in the minutes he has played, the feeling is that his contribution to the team’s wider performance is waning.
This isn’t the first time he’s thrown a bit of a strop over being left on the bench this season either, and his attitude towards his lack of minutes has lead to fans and media alike branding his behaviour “childish”, “embarrassing” and “incredibly disrespectful”.
Following the early tunnel exit incident, Manchester United has confirmed that Cristiano Ronaldo will not be including in the squad to face Chelsea in the Premier League this weekend.
Featured Image – Manchester United
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Two Manchester Basketball players have been named in the SLB Team of the Season for 2025/26
Danny Jones
A pair of Manchester Basketball players have been named in the latest SLB Team of the Season for 2025/26.
The most recent UK Super League Basketball (SLB) campaign is set to wrap up this month, with the playoffs taking place down in the capital, but there are other awards to be handed out before then.
It remains to be seen how ‘The Final Four’ phase will play out at The O2 in London on 17 May, but we can definitely take joy in moments like this.
Announced on Thursday, 7 May, Manchester Basketball confirmed that duo Max Jones and Jordan Johnson have joined the rest of the league’s roster of the best players this term.
As detailed on the club website, “Max has averaged 17.4 points in the SLB in 32 games – he’s been a starter for the franchise and was also named in the ENBL All-Star Five in Germany last month.
“Jordan averaged 14.1 points and 5.1 assists in 30 games in the SLB, had a stellar European campaign and hit 30 pts in just over 27 minutes in the SLB Cup Final.”
Commenting on social media, one fan wrote: “Both JJ and PJ have been so great at the PG spot all year. I feel this is a joint award for them both, but they can only fill one spot for the accolade. If we wanna be a serious club to build upon year on year, JJ also needs to be in an MCR jersey next year.
“We absolutely have the pieces to build around. JJ’s nerve is sooooo cool under pressure. You can just tell they wanna loft a meaningful trophy, and it’s gonna happen if we as a club plan and build the way we need to.”
Plenty of supporters have also stressed the importance of making sure that the board tie down the likes of Jones and other big talents this summer; the rest of the Molten All-League Team of the Season for 2025/26 can be found below.
It’s also worth noting that teammate Tim Adetukasi and women’s team star Irene Oboavwoduo have each been named in the SLB’s British Team of the Year in their respective divisions for 2026.
Writing in a club statement reflecting on a great week of recognition for the resurgent club, General Manager Dominique Allen said: “We are really proud to be a club flying the flag for British players.
Both Tim and Irene have made a real impact on and off the court. We’re really happy for both of them that they are getting some well-deserved recognition.”
Well done to all the MCR stars who are helping get the franchise back on its feet following such a major rebrand across the board.
Here’s looking forward to another promising and productive year for Manchester Basketball.
Manchester City win first Women’s Super League title in a decade
Danny Jones
After a decade of hope and hard work, Manchester City have finally won the Women’s Super League once again in a huge moment for the local club.
Lifting not just their first division title in 10 years, but only their second WSL trophy since the modern female football era began in 2010, it felt like only a matter of time to many supporters.
Ending a six-year Chelsea supremacy, this is also manager Andrée Jeglertz’s first at the helm of Man City’s women’s team, who arrived at the club with a strong silverware record at the start of this season.
These were the scenes at home base as one key result sealed their status as champions:
— Manchester City Women (@ManCityWomen) May 6, 2026
City Women secured the WSL title following third-placed Arsenal’s 1-1 draw against Brighton on Wednesday evening.
They even managed to do so with a game to spare and a six-point gap over the west London club, which has won so much over the past few years.
Speaking in an interview with club media after confirmation of the win, captain and Euro 2025-winning Lionesses defender, Alex Greenwood, said: “[It feels] absolutely incredible. “A moment – we as a team, me personally – us as a club has waited so long for”.
“An incredible moment, it’s an incredible feeling. I’m so glad we got to spend this moment together as a group. Just an absolutely incredible feeling.”
With fans watching both at home, along with the first team themselves, the celebrations have already begun as the team shared a look back at how they got here.
You can see the recap posted on social media in full below.
Commenting on his latest accolade, the Swedish head coach added in a full club statement: “There’s never been doubt about the talent in the group, but there is something else about talking about being winners and champions. We started that early, and we believed in that. That’s led us through this year.
“It hasn’t been easy; it’s been hard work every day, but we had a strong belief that we could be sitting here in May and be champions. That is the first thing, and we definitely deserve it.”
Congratulations to the Cityzens on a well-deserved and long-awaited WSL title; could this be the start of another sporting dynasty of dominance over in East Manchester? Only time will tell…
In other news around the Etihad Campus, the women’s, EDS and academy team stadium is also set to host the final of the FA Youth Cup later this month.
Emily Sergeant -
21st October 2022 
