Manchester United 2-0 victory over Tottenham Hotspur lifted them to fifth in the Premier League table and was the finest performance under Erik ten Hag’s coaching. Cristiano Ronaldo, an unused substitute, left the bench and walked down the tunnel in the 89th minute, and then proceeded to leave Old Trafford before referee had blown his whistle for full-time.

After the match Ten Hag said that he would “deal with” Ronaldo walking straight down the tunnel on Thursday. Then it emerged he had refused to come on against Spurs.

Manchester United on Thursday announced in an official statement that the Portuguese footballer will not be a part of the squad for Saturday’s Premier League game against Chelsea.

“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”, the club said in an official statement.

Response by Ronaldo

”As I’ve always done throughout my career, I try to live and play respectfully towards my colleagues, my adversaries and my coaches. That hasn’t changed. I haven’t changed. I’m the same person and the same professional that I’ve been for the last 20 years playing elite football, and respect has always played a very important role in my decision-making process. I started very young, the older and most experienced players’ examples were always very important to me. Therefore, later on, I’ve always tried to set the example myself for the youngsters that grew in all the teams that I’ve represented. Unfortunately that’s not always possible and sometimes the heat of the moment gets the best of us”