'I felt provoked by the coach' - Cristiano Ronaldo blames Ten Hag for leaving Old Trafford early during Tottenham match

• Ronaldo left Spurs game early
• Ten Hag furious at that decision
• But Ronaldo felt wronged by Ten Hag

WHAT HAPPENED? Cristiano Ronaldo said he felt "provoked" by Ten Hag before leaving the field during the game against Tottenham at Old Trafford in October. The Portuguese forward, who refused to come on as a late substitute, revealed his reason for leaving in his interview with Piers Morgan on TalkTV.

WHAT THEY SAID: “Piers I will be honest with you, it's something that I regret to left from the stadium. Probably, or maybe not, I don't know," he explained. "It's difficult to tell you 100% but let's say I regret, but in the same way I felt provoked by the coach.

“Don’t tell me that the top players, the guys who want everything, the key players will play three minutes. Come on, this is unacceptable after what they keep saying before, that they respect me, that they do this, they do that. For me it was not respect, this is why I take this decision I regret. I apologised to my teammates for the situation, I did a post, an Instagram, I regret to left from the stadium. I regret my teammates know what I felt, and I said to them apologised, but in the same way, I do not regret to take the decision to not come on."

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WHAT NEXT FOR RONALDO: The 37-year-old's explosive interview has cast a shadow on the club. Ronaldo is focused on the World Cup but will have to face the music once - or if - he returns to Manchester United.