Premier League football club Manchester United had used a picture of former England captain Kevin Pietersen to help spike interest for the ongoing T20 World Cup in Australia. However, things became controversial when Pietersen asked the club owners to immediately take the post down.
The former English cricketer even slammed the club and its manager Erik ten Hag for the treatment of Cristiano Ronaldo . Subsequently, the post was deleted.
“It’s T20 World Cup . We’ve welcomed cricketing legends, played at icc venues and met up with plenty of heroes over the years,” Manchester United had written in their Instagram post.
However reacting to the post, Pietersen wrote, “Please take my picture down? I don’t want an association with a club that’s managed by a clown who is completely disrespecting the greatest footballer of all time! @cristiano is the BOSS. That clown who no one will ever remember, needs a wake-up.”
Notably, during the game against Tottenham Hotspur, Ronaldo told United manager Erik ten Hag that he did not want to come on as a late substitute. Hag had then said after the Tottenham match that he would deal with the issue and Ronaldo was seen driving into United’s Carrington training headquarters before the announcement of his punishment.
Later, the club announced in an official statement that the star footballer will not be a part of the squad for their Premier League game against Chelsea.