Cristiano Ronaldo: Man Utd star's 'desperate' body language v Man City analysed

Cristiano Ronaldo is growing “increasingly impatient, frustrated and angry” with life at Manchester United.

That’s the view of a leading body language expert who has analysed footage of the five-time Ballon d’Or winner on the Red Devils’ bench during Sunday’s 6-3 defeat at Manchester City.

Ronaldo, who has scored 699 career goals at club level, was United’s only unused outfield substitute at the Etihad – despite his side needing to chase the game for much of the 90 minutes.

After the match, United boss Ten Hag claimed that he had not introduced Ronaldo to the action out of “respect for his big career”, per the Daily Mail.

With United already 4-0 down at the break, not even Ronaldo at his very best would have been able to turn things around for Ten Hag.

According to body language specialist Darren Stanton, though, Ronaldo appeared to resent the fact that he wasn’t given the opportunity to try.

READ MORE: Man City 6-3 Man United: Cristiano Ronaldo and Sir Alex Ferguson’s faces said it all

Having examined footage of a forlorn Ronaldo on the United bench, Stanton gave his verdict on the Portuguese superstar.

“A micro expression is a very quick flash that the face makes on an unconscious level which reveals the person’s real internal emotion and is only visible for about less than a second, if you know what to look for it’s very visible,” he began, via The Mirror.

“As we look at the footage of Ronaldo, he makes a one-sided smile so the left-hand side of his face and cheek wrinkles puff up. This is the emotion of contempt so he has nothing but disdain, a little bit of anger, frustration and impatience for what is happening on the pitch, as he’s on the bench, it’s clear he’s unhappy that he’s not playing and feels a great