Cristiano Ronaldo's Early Exit from Match Will Be Dealt With, Erik ten Hag Says

Cristiano Ronaldo, who didn't start or play for Manchester United in the club's 2-0 win over Tottenham Hotspur on Wednesday, made headlines when he walked down the tunnel into the locker room before the final whistle blew.

Manager Erik Ten Hag said it was a situation that would be addressed.

"I don't pay attention [to that] today, we will deal with that tomorrow," he told reporters. "The focus today was on a magnificent performance from all the 11 players. I have to correct myself, not just 11 players but the substitutes who came on, it was a squad performance. We deal with that [Ronaldo] tomorrow. What we see today is 11 players who defend and 11 who attack."

Ronaldo's actions became a primary storyline in what should have been a jubilant evening for a United side that moved just one point behind fourth-place Chelsea after the Blues posted a disappointing scoreless draw against Brentford.

United and Chelsea will face off on Saturday. If the aftermath of Ronaldo's actions on Wednesday were any indication, his situation will remain a talking point until that match:

Ronaldo has been making headlines for the wrong reasons all season long after trying unsuccessfully to force a move away from Manchester United during the summer in an effort to get to a club playing Champions League football this season.

This week alone, he already raised eyebrows after being visibly unhappy with being subbed off in Sunday's scoreless draw against Newcastle in the 72nd minute.

Ten Hag defended that decision.

"We have to recover," he told reporters. "Four games in 10 days and especially for the strikers, I want to keep them fresh. I want to keep them all fresh, we have to rotate because of some problems we have. [Anthony] Martial is not available in this moment, then Rashy [Marcus Rashford] was not well, so he did not have energy for the whole game. We had to plan to cover for the four games because we want to win or at least get a result in all four games."

Ten Hag also acknowledged that the 37-year-old Ronaldo wasn't happy earlier in October when he didn't play at all in a 6-3 loss to Manchester City.

"Of course, he wants to play, and he's annoyed when he's not playing," he told reporters. "It's clear."

"He's really competitive, as we all know. He's not happy, of course, when he's not playing," Ten Hag added. "But I already said and, I have to repeat, he's training well, he has a good mood, he's motivated, and he gives his best. That is what we expect."

If Ronaldo's end game is to keep his name in the headlines and to cause drama around the club to force a move in January, he's at least succeeding in the first part of his plan.

Whether another club will be willing to pay his huge wages, regularly start a player who is still a solid poacher but offers little in the way of pressing off the ball—a style of play more and more clubs have gravitated toward in the modern game—and is always a threat to cause drama and unrest if he's unhappy is another question entirely.