Cristiano Ronaldo, 37, has been benched for Manchester United's match against Chelsea on Saturday as a "consequence," according to manager Erik ten Hag, who also stated that the forward declined to be used as a replacement during Wednesday night's victory over Tottenham.
Aside from confirming Anthony Martial's continued absence due to injury, Ten Hag also stated that Marcus Rashford would likely lead the line as a "number nine."
Before the Spurs game was over, Ronaldo got up from the bench, walked down the Old Trafford tunnel, and then he departed the stadium entirely.
The five-time Ballon d’Or winner, who asked to leave in the summer and has been out of favour this season, behaved similarly during a pre-season friendly against Rayo Vallecano when he and a number of others were sat in the stands watching.
Ronaldo has since offered a half-apology for this week’s action, not actually saying he is sorry but at least acknowledging he behaved inappropriately in the ‘heat of the moment.
Before that statement from the player, United had already confirmed he would not be involved at all in the trip to Stamford Bridge.
The night of the Spurs game, Ten Hag said he would ‘deal with the situation and deal with it he has.
“After Vallecano, I told him it was unacceptable but not [just] him, everyone. This is the second time, there are consequences,” the United boss said at a press conference on Friday.
“We miss him tomorrow. It’s a miss for the squad but it’s essential for the attitude and mentality of the group and now we have to focus on Chelsea as that is important.
“It will have [time for] reflection for him, but also for everyone else. I said at the start of the season, next time there have to be consequences otherwise when you are living together and playing together, football is a team sport and you have to fulfil certain standards. And I have to control it.”