The story of Cristiano Ronaldo’s second stint at Manchester United appears destined for a sad conclusion after the Portugal captain was banished from first-team duties by manager Erik ten Hag on Thursday.

According to sources close to the club, Ronaldo refused to enter the field as a substitute during Wednesday night’s 2-0 win over Tottenham Hotspur, before heading down the tunnel prior to the final whistle and quickly leaving the stadium.

Manchester United 2-0 Tottenham Hotspur

Bruno Fernandes was the Man of the Match on a night which saw Manchester United produce a superb team showing in a dominant victory over Tottenham Hotspur at Old Trafford.

Fernandes scored his first goal for United since August, but it was the all-round nature of his performance in midfield which drew widespread praise after the match, justifying manager Erik ten Hag’s glowing praise for the Portuguese ahead of the game.

José Mourinho’s Roma beat Sampdoria 1-0 on Monday evening to make it three straight wins in Serie A and maintain their position in the Champions League places.

Lorenzo Pellegrini’s early penalty gave the Giallorossi a hard-fought victory, on a night which saw Mourinho up against one of his former players from his time at Inter, Dejan Stankovic, who was recently appointed by Sampdoria.

William Carvalho was the star of the show as Real Betis beat Almeria this weekend to continue their impressive start to the La Liga season. The Portugal midfielder struck twice to help Betis to a 3-1 victory, demonstrating that he looks set to be one of the Seleção’s most in-form players ahead of the World Cup.

Elsewhere, Wolverhampton Wanderers secured their first victory of the post-Bruno Lage era thanks to a Rúben Neves penalty against Nottingham Forest, as rumours persist that Nuno Espírito Santo could return to the club. Portuguese international Adrien Silva was also on the scoresheet this weekend, along with U21 international Marcos Paulo in the Spanish second tier and Josué in Poland.