Manchester United midfielder Bruno Fernandes has spoken about Cristiano Ronaldo's situation at the club.
The veteran Portuguese forward stormed off into the dugout during his team's win against Tottenham Hotspur on October 19 at Old Trafford. It has since come to light that he refused to come on as a substitute and even left the stadium without meeting his teammates.
Ronaldo's actions stirred a lot of media controversy, with manager Erik ten Hag axing him from the first-team squad for the Chelsea game. When asked to comment on the situation, Ronaldo's compatriot Fernandes told Sky Sports (via the Daily Mail):
"Now we don't talk about that, we keep it inside. We have to deal with that inside. And no one else has to know what we think what we want or what will go on going to happen because also us - we don't know. So the most important thing for everyone, including Cristiano, is that the team wins and I'm pretty sure of that."
The incident against Spurs is the latest addition to the Cristiano Ronaldo saga at Manchester United. He wanted to leave the club in the summer, but couldn't find the ideal suitor. The veteran forward isn't the first-choice striker for Ten Hag as he doesn't seem to fit into the Dutch tactician's philosophy.
Manchester United draw 1-1 against Chelsea without Cristiano Ronaldo
Manchester United played a tactically tight 1-1 game against Chelsea on Saturday (October 22). They missed several chances in the first half and lost control of the game in the second.
Chelsea sneaked ahead through Jorginho's penalty late in regulation time before Casemiro's header leveled things up in the final minute of injury time.
Speaking about the game, Fernandes said (via the aforementioned source):
"Yeah, I think [the] first half was really good for us, obviously. After the change of the tactical change with [Marc] Cucurella going out and [Mateo] Kovacic coming in, we had some problems in the middle, but we found our positions, we got our chances, and in the first half we could be two-nil up."
The Portuguese midfield maestro added:
"Obviously, in the second half they get to go from the penalty, but the belief was there. We keep fighting, the spirit was amazing and that's why we get the point is not what we want, but it's a good point."
Manchester United have a solid record against the rest of the Premier League's 'Big 6' this season. They have won three, drawn one, and lost one of their five matches.
The Red Devils have beaten Liverpool, Arsenal and Spurs, while their only defeat came against Manchester City at the Etihad. Fernandes stressed about putting in more effort in the game, adding:
"Keep fighting. We keep working. As I said, we consider if you're not turning up or when you love enough time is because you don't deserve or because you don't get enough to be to be winning the game."
Following the draw against Chelsea, Manchester United are fifth in the Premier League standings with 20 points from 11 matches.