Cristiano Ronaldo axed from Manchester United squad and could have played his last game for club after last star to refuse to play for Erik ten Hag never featured again

Cristiano Ronaldo may well have played his last ever game for Manchester United if the last player to defy Erik ten Hag is anything to go by.

The Portuguese superstar has found himself at the centre of a storm after refusing to come on as a substitute against Tottenham.

3

3

Ronaldo was dropped for United’s 2-0 victory over Spurs at Old Trafford on Wednesday and threw a strop at the end of the game.

The 37-year-old walked down the Old Trafford tunnel before the end of the match and left the stadium straight away.

It has since emerged that Ronaldo refused a request from Ten Hag to come on as a late sub before making his early exit.

The five-time Ballon d'Or winner took to social media to explain his actions after stating it was done in the ‘heat of the moment’.

But United subsequently suspended the Portugal captain from this weekend’s clash away at Chelsea and he trained alone on Friday.

Ronaldo might now find it hard to win back Ten Hag's trust based on the last player to pull a similar stunt in front of the Dutchman.

3

In 2018, when Ten Hag was in charge of Ajax, Amin Younes refused to come off the bench in a match against Heerenveen.

Ten Hag reacted by swiftly, banishing the German midfielder to Ajax's youth team for the rest of the season before he sealed a free transfer to Napoli that summer.

He explained his decision: “We still have six games to play and I only want players who are 100% motivated.

"A lot has happened with and around Amin during this season, that will undoubtedly play a role.

"But he does not give us the feeling that his attention is completely with Ajax.

"Marc and I informed him today that he is training the remaining weeks of this season with Jong Ajax.”

Most read in Football

Tottenham Hotspur in major blow as club fear key man is set for lengthy spell on sidelines

Harry Kane leads boozy Bundesliga celebrations as he sings iconic song for first time

Cole Palmer apologises over X-rated interview after ending Liverpool's seven-year record

Leeds chairman confirms future of boss Daniel Farke - 24 hours after Championship glory

Younes went on to bounce around Napoli, Eintracht Frankfurt and Al-Ettifaq in Saudi Arabia.

He incidentally only returned to the Netherlands with Utrecht on loan in August after Ten Hag had left to join United.

It remains to be seen whether he takes the same approach with Ronaldo, whose future at Old Trafford now looks bleaker than ever.