A Portugal legend has insisted that his countryman Cristiano Ronaldo was humiliated by Manchester United boss Erik ten Hag when he wanted to bring the 37-year-old on with just two minutes to go in a match.
Ronaldo infamously stormed out of Old Trafford during a game against Tottenham Hotspur in October after refusing to come on in the dying minutes of the match.
This reaction prompted disciplinary action from Ten Hag, with Ronaldo being swiftly suspended from first-team training and missing out on the team's following match against Chelsea that week.
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It later came to light that the player's relationship with the former Ajax Amsterdam mentor had broken down, with the 37-year-old revealing in a bombshell interview with Piers Morgan last week that he had no respect for Ten Hag and felt that the feeling was mutual.
Two-time Portuguese Footballer of the Year Paulo Futre has now sided with Ronaldo, suggesting that a player of the former Real Madrid forward's calibre deserves special treatment.
"Never seen a coach tell Cristiano Ronaldo to enter with two minutes to go. This is creating a conflict, it's a lack of respect. More than disrespect, it's a humiliation." he told Mais Futebol.
"He's got five Golden Balls, he can never get in with two minutes left. Normal players can enter two minutes away.
"Whoever does this to a player who has five Golden Balls is humiliating him.
"A player like Ronaldo can't be humiliated. This leads to a number of problems.
"The coach has to tell him that 15 or 20 minutes enter. If you don't say anything and tell him two minutes from the end to get in… I wouldn't go in!
"But I was also much more rebellious than Cristiano Ronaldo. From that moment on, the problems came."
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Various reports in England have also suggested that this is the end of the road at United for the veteran talisman, with the club reportedly exploring legal action to terminate his contract.
Meanwhile, it has been claimed by The Sun that Los Blancos have declined the opportunity to re-sign Ronaldo in January after the player offered himself to them on a six-month deal.
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