According to former Manchester United colleague Owen Hargreaves, Cristiano Ronaldo demonstrated that he'd "had enough" following the team's humiliating loss to Everton on Monday.
As Manchester United's dreams of finishing in the top four were all but dashed by a 1-0 loss to Everton at Goodison Park, the Portuguese star looked dejected. As of the end of Week 7, they are six points behind the leaders and face a challenging final stretch.
As a result of an illness that kept him out of the previous weekend's 0-0 draw with Leicester, Ronaldo was back in the starting lineup on Merseyside on Saturday. He didn't make much of a difference, as United offered little after falling behind midway through the first half.
In addition to being deprived of any service, the 37-year-old had little opportunity to help his team get back into the game. In the closing stages of the game, his frustrations were revealed when he received a yellow card for booting the ball out of play. He was also compelled to issue an apology after appearing to knock a fan's phone out of his hands while leaving the field after the final whistle.
As the summer season approaches, much has been written about Cristiano Ronaldo's future at Old Trafford, with some speculating that if United fail to qualify for the Champions League, he may try to leave the club despite the fact that he has a year remaining on his contract. Hargreaves acknowledges that the indicators against Everton were concerning.
"What went right?" asked Hargreaves, who was interviewed by Premier League Productions about United's defeat. A great deal went wrong. What exactly did they do correctly?
"They didn't put up any effort, their passing was terrible, and they didn't have many shots on target." They didn't do much, in my opinion.
"A top-four finish is on the line in this game. Look, Anthony Gordon played the game as if it were his life and death. Everton could be relegated, but Manchester United could find themselves in the Champions League, which is where they all want to be.
That's where their names imply they ought to be. However, it didn't appear that they believed it was a must-win situation. However, we didn't see any performance from them." There was nothing of value. During that game, just look at Cristiano Ronaldo's demeanor: he'd had enough! He was not attended to. He had no effect on him.
"Manchester United has so many good players, but you'd expect so much more from them."