Erik ten Hag has already dealt with Ronaldo scenario - and it didn't end well

Cristiano Ronaldo's future remains the subject of debate after the Portugal forward was left out of Erik ten Hag's Manchester United's squad on Saturday.

The veteran refused to come on as a substitute against Tottenham in midweek, prompting Ten Hag to prepare his team to face Chelsea without last season's top scorer. United still claimed a point without Ronaldo, with Casemiro equalising after Jorginho's penalty gave Chelsea a late lead.

Showdown talks between Ten Hag and Ronaldo are expected this week after which we should have a better idea of what comes next. However, Ronaldo may want to take heed of what happened between Ten Hag and another squad rebel when Amin Younes upset the boss during his time at Ajax.

Younes was an important part of Ajax's squad under Peter Bosz, playing 48 times in the 2016-17 season. He scored in the Europa League semi-final victory over Lyon before starting in the final as the Eredivisie side lost to Jose Mourinho's United in Stockholm.

The German was still involved under Marcel Keizer at the start of the following campaign, but things changed after Ten Hag took over in January 2018. Younes had spent time out with a knee problem in the first half of the season and was used a handful of times by Ten Hag after returning to full fitness.

The 24-year-old was named among the subs once more for a match against Heerenveen in April 2018 but refused to leave the bench when called on by Ten Hag to do so. By the end of the month, he had been banished to the reserves, and he would never play for Ajax again.

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"We still have six games to play and I only want players who are 100 per cent motivated," Ten Hag said at the time, as reported by Football Oranje. "A lot has happened with and around Amin during this season, that will undoubtedly play a role.

"But he does not give us the feeling that his attention is completely with Ajax. Marc [director of football Marc Overmars] and I informed him today that he is training the remaining weeks of this season with Jong Ajax."

Younes' situation was slightly different from that faced by Ronaldo, with the winger having already agreed to join Napoli on a free at the end of that season. Still, it serves as a reminder that the manager has not been afraid to leave out those he doesn't believe are committed to the cause.

After leaving Ajax in the summer of 2018, Younes' injury problems continued. An Achilles problem kept him out for most of his first season in Italy, restricting him to just 16 appearances, and he eventually left for Al Ettifaq in Saudi Arabia after some time on loan in Germany.

Interestingly, Saudi Arabia continues to be floated as a potential destination for Ronaldo if he leaves Old Trafford. A move to Al Hilal fell through in September, but it remains to be seen whether there is renewed interest from the Saudi Professional League in January if Ronaldo's United career goes the way of Younes' in Amsterdam.

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