Souness defends Ronaldo 'angry' as 'problem' was 'created by Man Utd' - Ten Hag 'shot himself in the foot'

Graeme Souness has come to the defense of Cristiano Ronaldo as the pundit blamed Man Utd and Erik ten Hag for him being 'deeply frustrated'.

Even by Souness standards, his new column for The Daily Mail is a whole other level of absurdity.

The Liverpool legend has joined the Ronaldo fanboy club to defend the 37-year-old after his antics on Wednesday night.

The striker refused to replace Tottenham as Man Utd lost 2-0 at Old Trafford.

Ronaldo then left the dugout and walked through the tunnel alone a few minutes before the final whistle.

Ten Hag moved quickly to punish the striker, who will not be considered for selection this weekend. He also trained outside the first team on Thursday.

It's pretty conclusive that Ronaldo is the wrong one in this situation, but Souness went against the grain with his take on the drama midweek.

The 70-year-old sensationally suggested that Ronaldo was "obviously angry, upset and deeply frustrated" and that he was "entirely created by United".

"It's a desperately sad situation that Cristiano Ronaldo finds himself in. Here's a player who took Manchester United to great heights and scored goals for them that will live long in the memory - but look what this club is l 'cut down,' Souness wrote for The Daily Mail.

"What we saw at Old Trafford when the team faced Tottenham on Wednesday night was a clearly angry, upset and deeply frustrated player - stuck on a substitutes' bench when players he would rightly consider himself title as superiors were in the field.

"For a player as competitive as him, it will have been agony. An experience he never imagined he would face. I have to say that I can understand how he feels.

"This is a situation entirely due to United. A problem they simply did not need to create. Erik ten Hag made bold and courageous decisions, trying to instil discipline and unity.< /p>

"But how did he think this situation with Ronaldo was going to work out?

"How did he think the player would react when asked to sit on a bench, walk up the sideline doing warm-ups, and then stand redundant and unused, with the cameras trained on each of his facial expressions?< /p>

"People should only talk about that performance against Tottenham, but that's it. Ten Hag and United shot each other in the foot and didn't help each other at all."

Souness then suggested that 'United will end up destroying Ronaldo's legacy' if the alleged mistreatment of him continues.

"I think it's incumbent on United to do better with him. Do whatever it takes not to humiliate the man in such a way," Souness continued.

“He will certainly feel disrespected in what is arguably the worst period of his career. He is being tested in a way he never expected, at the twilight of his playing days.

"He seemed to reflect that in the statement he released Thursday night. These seemed to be the words of a man genuinely taking responsibility for his actions, rather than running away from them. He was there at 8:30 to training with the Under-21s on Friday.

"But if the current situation persists and he suffers more of these indignities on the substitutes' bench, his behavior could continue to be offbeat.

"And that could lead to what I think is the worst outcome of all of this: that United fans remember him for what happens for the rest of this season, or at least for as long as he will be kept in Manchester, rather than those golden years and shining goals.

"If this continues United will end up destroying Ronaldo's legacy. The least the club owes him is to not allow this to happen. To stop doing this to him."

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