An assessment of Cristiano Ronaldo's most recent outburst has been made by Mike Phelan, a former assistant to Sir Alex Ferguson at Manchester United.

Although he had a hat-trick against Tottenham the previous season, Ronaldo was benched for Wednesday's Premier League matchup.

The Portuguese made the decision to leave Old Trafford prior to the conclusion of the 2-0 victory over Tottenham, clearly incensed by Erik ten Hag's choice.

Erik ten Hag’s team’s success was somewhat overshadowed by Ronaldo’s early departure from the stadium.

Ronaldo has since been punished. He won’t be taking any part in the game against Chelsea on Saturday and has been banned from training with the first team.

Phelan told Stadium Astro: “We don’t know if he was sulking, but he’s a proud man, a proud professional."

“I agree, it doesn’t come across very well when the game hasn’t finished and you’re leaving. I’m sure there will be a story behind that which will come out later.

“It’s disappointing, but he obviously thought he could have contributed to that game." He has that hunger. Knowing Cristiano, he would’ve felt even at 2-0 that he could contribute and score a goal.

“I agree, you can’t be bigger than the team and it is disappointing." I’m sure they will address that within the club.

“He’s mature and experienced, so it is disappointing. We don’t know the reasons why, but we can assume he’s annoyed. "