Sir Alex Ferguson has already issued advice to Manchester United on what action they should take with Cristiano Ronaldo after he refused to come on as a substitute on Wednesday night.
Ronaldo stormed down the tunnel at Old Trafford after Manchester United's dominant two-goal victory over Tottenham – with boss Erik ten Hag axing the star from the upcoming trip to Chelsea this weekend.
The Portuguese superstar has been widely criticised for his actions at the end of the encounter. 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." His comments and actions appear to have strengthened, rather than diminished, his authority at Old Trafford.
The Dutchman appears to be following advice similar to that which Ferguson gave during his 27-year tenure in the Old Trafford hot seat. The Scot had a reputation for offloading star players at the first sign of trouble, with his ruthlessness becoming legendary.
The deterioration of Ferguson's relationship with David Beckham was arguably the most infamous of all those breakdowns, with the boss explaining in his 2013 book My Autobiography: "The minute a Manchester United player thought he was bigger than the manager, he had to go."
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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 the urgency of the Ronaldo situation – that of their highest earning and highest status player – may alter that approach and prompt a change.
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.
A parting of ways seems increasingly inevitable with this week's events appearing to accelerate such an inevitability. It will be an early test of Ten Hag and the club's transfer chiefs to heed the advice of their most successful-ever manager and lay down the law.
