Ronaldo axed after Spurs tantrum

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’s 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.

Ronaldo responded to his shock omission from the squad by claiming the Tottenham incident had come in the heat of the moment.

Pledging to keep working to win back his place, Ronaldo said on Instagram: “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.

“Right now, I just feel that I have to keep working hard in Carrington, support my teammates and be ready for everything in any given game.

“Giving in to the pressure is not an option. It never was. This is Manchester United, and united we must stand. Soon we’ll be together again.”

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.