“Maybe he was cold and had to take a shower” – Julian Nagelsmann reacts to Cristiano Ronaldo storming down tunnel during Manchester United vs Spurs

Bayern Munich head coach Julian Nagelsmann has reacted hilariously to Cristiano Ronaldo storming down the tunnel during Manchester United's clash with Tottenham Hotspur.

The Portuguese ace made headlines for all the wrong reasons once again after leaving the pitch before the full-time whistle on October 19.

He was named among the substitutes by Erik ten Hag but seemed to be coming later in the game as he started warming up on the sidelines.

However, the 37-year-old went off and headed straight down the tunnel even though the match wasn't over yet. Ten Hag claimed that Ronaldo even refused to come on.

Ronaldo was slammed for his unprofessional conduct across the football world. He has now been dropped from Manchester United's squad for the Stamford Bridge visit today (October 22) for a clash with Chelsea.

Naglesmann was asked about this in his latest press conference and said the player probably wanted to take a shower. He said (via stadium astro):

“I only read the headline [on Cristiano Ronaldo’s walkout] to be honest. It is always hard to assess this when you don’t know what was communicated internally."

He added:

“Maybe he was cold and had to take a shower, I don’t know. When it comes to those emotional topics after a game, also with Leroy [Sane] when he went to the tunnel early once, I am very cautious."

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Naglesmann is glad the Cristiano Ronaldo controversy is not his to solve

The German further empathized with the five-time Ballon d'Or winner, saying it can be disappointing for a player if he's not subbed into a game.

He said:

“In the end, I expect a player not to be happy when I don’t play him, sub him late or sub him off early. It is always about how you want to express that, that is an individual decision. But as a manager, I never feel insulted like, ‘he didn’t high five me’. It is nice when you comply with certain manners, but it’s not a bad thing if it doesn’t work once. You can talk about this in private."

He added:

“The problem in football is that you have a few more spectators and things aren’t private anymore. It is hard for me to assess this since I only read the headline. I am happy I don’t have to sort this problem out.”

Ronaldo has seen a reduced role under Ten Hag this season, clocking only 340 minutes of action in the league while scoring only once.