7:00 p.m. ET
Rob Dawson correspondent
Manchester United manager Erik ten Hag has confirmed that Cristiano Ronaldo has refused to come on against Tottenham Hotspur.
Ronaldo was seen leaving the bench before the end of Wednesday’s 2-0 win over Spurs and later left the stadium before Ten Hag and the United squad had returned to the dressing room.
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At a press conference on Friday, Ten Hag confirmed Ronaldo refused to step into the game as a late substitute and urged the manager to drop the 37-year-old from the squad to face Chelsea on Saturday.
Asked if Ronaldo refused to come on against Tottenham, Ten Hag replied: “Yes.”
Ten Hag added that Ronaldo had already been warned about his behavior after he was seen leaving Old Trafford ahead of the end of the friendly with Rayo Vallecano in July.
“I’m the manager and I’m responsible for the elite sports culture here and I have to set standards and values and control them,” he added.
“We are a team and within the team we have values and standards and I have to control that. After Rayo Vallecano, I said [him] It was unacceptable but he wasn’t the only one but that goes for everyone so there will be consequences the second time around.
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“I sent a warning at the beginning of the season, next time there must be consequences. Football is a team sport and you have to meet certain standards. And I have to control him.”
Ronaldo trained alone with fitness trainers on Friday and will not be included in the squad for Saturday’s game against Chelsea at Stamford Bridge.
He is expected to return to the main group on Monday ahead of Thursday’s Europa League game against Sheriff FC at Old Trafford and Ten Hag said the Portuguese striker remains “an important player”.
“The talks are between Cristiano and myself,” said Ten Hag, who will also be without Anthony Martial against Chelsea as he continues to recover from a back injury.
“We’ll miss him tomorrow. It’s a failure for the team but it’s important for the attitude and mentality of the group and now we have to focus on Chelsea because that’s important. He remains an important part of the team.”