Rio Ferdinand handed Cristiano Ronaldo a hopeful straw to clutch at in the aftermath of his Manchester United strop - only to see it backfire.
The Portuguese forward has caused another stir at Old Trafford after storming down the tunnel before the final whistle against Tottenham in midweek, and has now been dropped for Saturday's trip to Chelsea and made to train alone. Ronaldo has since released a statement following news of his axe from the fixture at Stamford Bridge, accepting he was in the wrong for his behaviour.
But boss Erik ten Hag has taken no prisoners with his ruthless actions, destroying Ferdinand's theory in the process that he was preserving Ronaldo for the upcoming clash with Graham Potter's side. Ferdinand had said on his Vibe with Five podcast this week: "My only thought could be that Cristiano Ronaldo is being saved for the weekend against Chelsea."
"That's the only way I see it... He didn't play today - and I think Ronaldo will be absolutely fuming with that naturally. I wouldn't expect anything different from him."
It has since been reported Ronaldo refused to go on as a late substitute when asked by Ten Hag, with Anthony Elanga and Christian Eriksen both eventually being thrown on instead in the 87th minute. Ronaldo headed down the touchline moments later and had left Old Trafford before his team-mates had even got back from the dressing room.
United hadn't missed the superstar, delivering arguably their best performance under Ten Hag to see off Spurs in a 2-0 victory, with Ronaldo's absence from the post-match celebrations barely noted by his colleagues. Attention has now turned to his future at the club, with a January exit looking the most likely scenario.
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Ferdinand feels that should be the only scenario if Ten Hag does not consider Ronaldo a key part of his plans. "I think the big problem that Erik ten Hag has got is that, coming up to this next window, he has to think very carefully what he does," the pundit said.
"If he doesn’t see Cristiano Ronaldo as a starter in his team more often than not, he has to release him from the contract, let him go. It’s not fair on anybody, on Cristiano, on Erik ten Hag, or the players, if after every game the first question is 'why didn’t Cristiano start' and that’s the story."
It's not the first time Ten Hag has faced questions over the frontman, who was substituted early in the goalless draw with Newcastle at the weekend and has largely been named among the substitutes rather than as a regular starter. It's clear the Dutchman prefers other options, with Marcus Rashford often getting the nod ahead of the five-time Ballon d'Or winner.
Ten Hag's strict punishment to exclude him from facing Chelsea has been accepted by Ronaldo and met with a defiant statement, where he admitted "sometimes the heat of the moment get’s the best of us".
He added: "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."
