Take my picture down' - Former England cricketer lambasts Manchester United over usage of his image

Manchester United - Source (Twitter)

The 20-20 World Cup gets underway in Australia on October 22 and Premier League football club Manchester United used a picture of former England batter Kevin Pietersen to generate interest for the marquee event. However, it wasn't smooth sailing as Pietersen asked them to take the post down and went after manager Eric Ten Hag and the club for the ill-treatment of Cristiano Ronaldo.

Once the comment came on social media the post was deleted by the club. It's T20 World Cup szn. We've welcomed cricketing legends, played at a lot of venues, and met up with plenty of heroes over the years," Manchester United had written in their Instagram post.

However, Pietersen commented: "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."

According to reports, Ronaldo told Ten Hag that he did not want to come in as a substitute. Ten Hag then said that the issue will be dealt with later on. Ronaldo was seen moving into United’s Carrington training headquarters before his punishment was announced.

Ronaldo and Ten Hag have not seen eye to eye with each other at United and have had a frosty relationship with each other. The manager at United has responded by taking a harsh call.

The Top brass at United have been mulling over Ronaldo’s future with the Red Devils after the disciplinary issue and it is not looking rosy at all for the Portugal striker at the moment in United colours.

United have to play wait and watch until the transfer window reopens on January 1

Before they can transfer Ronaldo somewhere else, but the biggest roadblock could prove to be Ronaldo’s hefty pay cheque which could lead to no potential buyers showing interest.

Ronaldo has been pulling the strings to eke out a solution to move out from United since the end of last season, after a disappointing Champions League season last year.