Cristiano Ronaldo stormed down the tunnel at Old Trafford after Manchester United's dominant two-goal victory over Tottenham – leaving boss Erik ten Hag with a fresh headache.
The Portuguese superstar was filmed walking off with two minutes remaining of regulation time as United used their allocation of substitutions, while he is said to have left the stadium entirely before his teammates returned to the dressing room after the clash on Wednesday night.
Ronaldo, 37, has been widely criticised for his actions at the end of the encounter with suggestions that he should follow the lead of Lionel Messi in dealing with his reduced game-time. He has been intent on departing United for the past four months after his high-profile return from Juventus last year did not go to plan.
Ten Hag addressed the incident after the game on Amazon Prime: "He (Ronaldo) was there, I have seen him but I didn't speak. I will deal with that tomorrow not today." It has been a difficult issue for the Dutchman to deal with but the episode appears to have strengthened, rather than diminished, his authority at the club.
Ronaldo has started just one of United's last eight Premier League matches and none of the six games they won during that period, although he did net the winner earlier this month against Everton after coming on as an early substitute for Anthony Martial. However, he has slipped further down the pecking order under Ten Hag.
There are options on the table for Ten Hag and United on how to tackle the situation. One option is to allow him to leave the club – either on a permanent deal or a temporary loan arrangement until the end of his contract in 2023 – but this may prove problematic, as no buying club emerged in the summer transfer window despite the player's attempts.
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United football director John Murtough poured cold water on the idea that there will be first-team movements in or out of the club this winter, but that position could change should they be able to offload their highest-earning player. However, with Ronaldo's game-time and status diminished, he may be open to mutually terminating his contract to allow him to join another club at a more affordable cost.
Another unlikely option is to instil Ronaldo as the first-choice striker in place of Marcus Rashford and Anthony Martial, although this does not appear to be a probable outcome. The same could be said of Ten Hag reshaping his team to accommodate Ronaldo, by playing him alongside another forward player.
As things stand, the most likely outcome is that United tell Ronaldo that his situation remains the same for now – that he will contribute to the squad but is not an automatic starter within Ten Hag's setup.
