Patrice Evra defends Cristiano Ronaldo and claims Erik ten Hag doesn’t respect him 

Former Manchester United defender Patrice Evra has claimed that Erik ten Hag doesn’t ‘respect’ Cristiano Ronaldo.

The Dutchman dropped Ronaldo for United’s 2-0 win over Tottenham and then left him as an unused substitute throughout the 90 minutes. 

The Red Devils’ victory, which was the best performance of the Ten Hag era so far, was overshadowed when Ronaldo reacted to not being brought on by disappearing down the tunnel in the 89th minute, and Sportsmail understands he may even have left the stadium before the match finished. 

Ronaldo received widespread criticism for his actions, but United legend Evra defended him – insisting he was unhappy with the treatment of his former teammate at the club.

‘I would have to start [Ronaldo],’ Evra told Amazon Prime.

‘One interview from Ten Hag after the game against Manchester City and why he didn’t bring him on was because he respected his character. 

‘If he respected his character, he would surely have to play him and play him every time.’

Fellow pundit Thierry Henry also claimed United must find a solution to deal with the current situation surrounding Ronaldo, but gave his backing to Ten Hag to find the best outcome for the club.

Cristiano Ronaldo stormed down the tunnel after being an unused substitute vs Tottenham

He was dropped from the United starting XI for their 2-0 win over Spurs at Old Trafford

He said: ‘It is not an easy one, but for the boss, he is here for the team, not Cristiano Ronaldo. Cristiano is part of the team and you need to find that solution.

‘At times, he has to play without him and what’s difficult is when people talk about him, he will talk about what he has done in the game and not many people can sit on his table who have achieved what he has, but it is about what he is currently doing and what he is doing is not what he used to.’

Yesterday’s exit from Ronaldo was the second time he has left a United game without permission under Ten Hag. In July, the 37-year-old exited Old Trafford at half-time after being substituted in a pre-season friendly against Rayo Vallecano.

Ten Hag described that incident as ‘unacceptable’ but pointed out that Ronaldo wasn’t the only United player who went early.

Erik ten Hag said he will ‘deal with the issue’ on Thursday after Ronaldo left before the whistle

The five-time Ballon d’Or winner’s behaviour has been a problem for both Ten Hag and his predecessor Ralf Rangnick.

Only three days, Ronaldo attracted more negative publicity when he was substituted against Newcastle by Ten Hag and left the pitch shaking his head and muttering.

Ten Hag confirmed after the game he would deal with Ronaldo’s latest strop on Thursday. 

The Dutchman failed to give an answer when he was asked if Ronaldo had been given permission to leave. The United manager said: ‘I have seen him, but I didn’t speak to him. I will deal with that tomorrow, not today. We are celebrating this victory.’

The win over Spurs took United up to fifth in the Premier League, with Ten Hag’s side now unbeaten in five games in all competitions. 

Evra claimed if Ten Hag did respect the Portuguese superstar, he would ‘play him every time’