Deadline set for Cristiano Ronaldo to respond to charges placed on him by FA over fan assault incident

BBC Sport's Simon Stone has claimed that Manchester United striker Cristiano Ronaldo has until Monday, 10 October, to respond to an assault charge by the FA.

Cristiano Ronaldo clashed with a young Evertonian following Manchester United's disappointing 1-0 defeat to the Toffees last season (April 9).

In frustration, the Portuguese threw the child's phone to the ground and received major backlash for the ordeal.

He apologized on his Instagram account for the encounter, offering the fan a chance to visit an Old Trafford game of which his invitation was rejected.

Ronaldo was charged with breaching FA rule E3 which deemed his conduct to be improper and/or violent. The Portuguese now has until October 10 to respond to the charge.

It has been a difficult start to the season for the legendary forward, who has been out of form for both club and country.

The United striker has netted just one goal which was a penalty in the UEFA Europa League in a 2-0 win over Sheriff Tiraspol.

There have been calls for the attacker to be dropped by Fernando Santos in the Portuguese national side.

Ronaldo's sister Katia Aveiro hit back at the striker's critics, saying:

"It is necessary to give a hand to those who have always given theirs to Portugal. But the Portuguese are sick, petty, soulless, stupid, and forever ungrateful. This guy who's sitting, he's on his knees... There's no one to give him a hand, this is cruel. And it was already so much, but so much that he gave and gives."

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Manchester United should have sold Cristiano Ronaldo

Ronaldo's woes continue

It was the worst kept secret in football that Cristiano Ronaldo eyed a move away from Old Trafford in the summer.

The five-time Ballon d'Or winner was dissapointed not to have qualified for the UEFA Champions League and looked to move to a top contender in the competition.

Interest in the forward appeared scare but United's stance throughout was that the player was not for sale.

In hindsight, that may have been a bad decision from the Red Devils given the striker's disappointing start to the campaign.

Ronaldo has been dropped by manager Erik ten Hag for United's last four league outings, which has resulted in four consecutive wins.

The veteran striker may have had more of an impact at another club this season with the Red Devils using Marcus Rashford as their first-choice centre-forward.

Rashford has impressed with three goals in six appearances under Ten Hag.