Did Cristiano Ronaldo refuse to play against Man City?

Rangnick is not intimidated by anything or anyone even if he is dealing with Cristiano Ronaldo. There has been tension between the two and the latest incident could well have come on Sunday. 

Man Utd were beaten 4-1 in the derby by Man City at the Etihad Stadium. Cristiano Ronaldo did not play in the game and Rangnick justified his absence.

"Cristiano Ronaldo still had problems with his flexor muscles on Friday and so we decided to not take a risk," the Man Utd manager said. However, this did not go down well with the Portuguese. 

In fact, Ronaldo's sister, Katia Aveiro, liked a message on social media which said the following: "Cristiano was 100%, he didn't play because of technical and tactical reasons." There are also rumours that Ronaldo refused to be part of the squad after finding out he would not start the contest. 

'The Sun' reports that Cristiano Ronaldo travelled to Portugal after finding out the news and that has led to friction and division in the dressing room. 

Rumour also has it that Edinson Cavani, who missed the game through injury, was also perfectly fit to play. Things are clearly not right between Rangnick and some of United's players. 

Man Utd are fifth in the Premier League on 47 points, just one off fourth placed Arsenal who are in the final Champions League spot. Winning the league is now an impossible task and so attention turns to the Champions League last 16 second leg against Atletico Madrid at Old Trafford. It is 1-1 from the first game.