Cristiano Ronaldo has been dominating the headlines recently, and for obvious reasons, with the Portuguese icon enduring a recent falling out with Manchester United and its manager Erik ten Hag.
The 37-year-old, who has been unhappy since the arrival of the Dutchman due to a lack of playing time, broke the camel's back during the Red Devils' recent 2-0 win over Tottenham. In that game, the former Real Madrid icon first refused to come on as a substitute before storming down the tunnel in the final minutes and leaving Old Trafford before the final whistle.
Ten Hag confirmed this shortly after the game and not too long after, the Premier League giants announced that the five-time Ballon d'Or winner would face punishment. He was dropped from the squad altogether for the Chelsea game and was forced to train with the kids instead of the senior players.
However, fast forward to today and Ronaldo is not only back in the squad, but the iconic goalscorer is also in contention for Manchester United's upcoming game, a UEFA Europa League showdown against Sheriff. But how did this come about?
The manager and the player sat down for crunch talks and have since buried the hatchet. Well-known journalist Fabrizio Romano gave insight into those meetings, revealing that Cristiano accepted full responsibility for his actions and was apologetic as that "was not the best way to act". Additionally, Ten Hag also understood Cristiano's situation and frustration after being relegated to the bench.
Several conversations took place, and after all those talks, the pair ended up shaking hands and made peace. The 37-year-old has now rejoined the group and will be hoping to start Thursday's clash.
"We know how complicated things got for Cristiano Ronaldo last week. He left Old Trafford early in the Tottenham game, so Erik ten Hag decided he had to be dropped. He decided together with the board, and Ronaldo was left out of Ten Hag's squad for the Chelsea game," Romano told Caught Offside.
"Cristiano understood it was not the best way to act. It's important to mention he's now back in contention for the first-team, we will see him get an opportunity again. He's 100% available. But what happened with his talks with Ten Hag? I'm told they have been in constant, direct contact, and it was positive. Ronaldo was really sorry, but also Ten Hag understood the player wanted to be involved more. They spoke about it, they had multiple conversations, and they decided to shake hands and now Ronaldo is back in the United first-team."
While the Red Devils only need a point from their upcoming encounter with Sheriff in order to qualify for the knockout stage, Manchester United will want to win their group. However, given that Real Sociedad currently top the table with a three-point advantage, failure to win could see the 20-time English champions enter the knockout round playoffs where they will face a team that has dropped down from the UEFA Champions League.
