Cristiano Ronaldo has again caused a stir with his behavior. Apparently frustrated by his role as a bench presser, the 37-year-old Portuguese left the bench prematurely in the 89th minute of Manchester United's convincing 2-0 home win against Tottenham Hotspur on Wednesday and disappeared into the players' tunnel. At this point, coach Erik ten Hag could have substituted two more professionals.

"I'll deal with it tomorrow, not today. Now we're celebrating this win," Dutchman ten Hag said after the game about Ronaldo's disrespectful behavior just before the end of regular time: "I saw him, but I didn't speak to him ."

It is not entirely out of the question that Ronaldo overdid it. For weeks, the offensive star, who under ten Hag can hardly get beyond the role of the bank player, has been openly showing his frustration. Most recently, he visibly complained after being substituted in the game against Newcastle United last weekend.

"I'm sorry but that's unacceptable, that's so pathetic," said former England international turned TV pundit Gary Lineker of Ronaldo's escape against Tottenham. The incident was also particularly troubling because Manchester United put on their best performance of the season so far, proving once again that they play better without Ronaldo.

Ronaldo wanted to leave the club ahead of the season but apparently didn't get clearance from Manchester United. At the same time, the superstar couldn't find a club willing to sign him. The reasons for this varied. Either Ronaldo was too expensive or he didn't fit into the sporting concept. Borussia Dortmund and FC Bayern Munich had also dealt with the personnel.

Ronaldo is a reserve under Dutch coach Ten Hag and rarely gets a place in the starting XI. In the meantime, the club has reconsidered and officially approved Ronaldo for a transfer. This means that the frustrated superstar should flee during the winter break if he finds a new club.

Sources: DPA, "BBC"