Sir Alex Ferguson will know Manchester United must cut ties with Cristiano Ronaldo if his own words are anything to go by, after going through a similar experience with David Beckham at Old Trafford 19 years ago.
Erik ten Hag made the decision to drop Ronaldo from United's squad to play Chelsea on Saturday afternoon, after the 37-year-old walked down the tunnel at Old Trafford ahead of the final whistle during the 2-0 win over Tottenham on Wednesday night.
The former Real Madrid man left the stadium early in clear frustration at his lack of game time. Ten Hag has subsequently banished Ronaldo from first-team training, and the forward reported to United's Carrington training complex on Friday to train alone.
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Ferguson is viewed as something of a father figure by Ronaldo and played a role in convincing the Portugal captain to return to United last year, but judging by how Ferguson used to operate when he was in the dugout, he will know Ronaldo has crossed the line.
In his 2013 autobiography, Ferguson spoke of how he knew a player had to leave United when they thought they were more important than him, referencing Beckham and the infamous 2003 boot incident, when Ferguson kicked a boot in anger and it hit Beckham in the face.
Ferguson wrote: "David (Beckham) was the only player I managed who chose to be famous, who made it mission to be known outside the game.
"He was around 12 feet from me. Between us on the floor lay a row of boots. David swore. I moved towards him and as I approached I kicked a boot. It hit him right above the eye. Of course he rose to have a go at me and the players stopped him. 'Sit down,' I said. 'You’ve let your team down. You can argue as much as you like.'
"The next day the story was in the press. He was photographed in public with an Alice band to highlight the damage. I told the board David had to go. The minute a Man United player thought he was bigger than the manager, he had to go. David thought he was bigger than Alex Ferguson. You cannot have a player taking over the dressing room. That was the death knell for him."
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