LONDON: Cristiano Ronaldo’s future at Manchester United has been plunged into fresh doubt after he was dropped from the squad for Saturday’s clash with Chelsea following his tantrum against Tottenham.
Ronaldo stormed down the Old Trafford tunnel with several minutes remaining in United’s 2-0 win over Tottenham on Wednesday.
The 37-year-old star reportedly told United manager Erik ten Hag that he did not want to come on as a late substitute.
Ten Hag said after the Tottenham match that he would “deal with” the issue on Thursday and Ronaldo was seen driving into United’s Carrington training headquarters before the announcement of his punishment.
It was not the first time Ronaldo had shown public dissent at his role in Ten Hag’s team and the United manager has finally responded by wielding the axe.
“Cristiano Ronaldo will not be part of the Manchester United squad for this Saturday’s Premier League game against Chelsea. The rest of the squad is fully focused on preparing for that fixture,” a United statement said on Thursday.
It is believed Ten Hag’s decision to remove Ronaldo from the squad has the full backing of the United hierarchy.
United chiefs are said to be weighing up a decision on Ronaldo’s long-term future after the disciplinary issue.
But whether there can be a way back for the unhappy Portugal striker remains to be seen.
United would have to wait until the transfer window reopens on January 1 before they could sell Ronaldo, whose huge salary could prove a stumbling block to potential buyers.
Disappointed by United’s failure to qualify for the Champions League, Ronaldo has been trying to engineer a move away from Old Trafford since the end of last season.
