Rio Ferdinand, a former player for Manchester United, has said that he worries that Gary Neville and Cristiano Ronaldo’s friendship may have completely broken down as a result of the former apparently ignoring calls from the latter.
Ronaldo stopped to speak with former Red Devils player Louis Saha, who was serving as a pundit for Sky Sports, as he made his way out of the Old Trafford tunnel to warm up for the match against West Ham.
Ronaldo spoke with Saha before extending a friendly greeting to Jamie Redknapp and shaking hands with him, but he ran right past Neville.
The former United right-back appeared uncomfortable as he might have been expecting a handshake from Ronaldo, who was obviously not in the mood for one.
Neville recently said that United would be better off without their famous number seven, and the 37-year-old is not happy about such remarks, according to rumors.
What Ferdinand Said
Ferdinand conceded, while speaking to his Vibe with Five YouTube channel, that he would be surprised to see Ronaldo end the rift anytime soon.
“I don’t think Cristiano is taking that call [if Neville calls him]. Knowing Cristiano it’s gone, isn’t it?
“You’ve said what you said and believe what you believe,” the former England defender explained.
“I think what I would have done differently if I was recreating that scenario, I would maybe have gone and shook a couple of hands and said: ‘You talk too much, see you later’ and then gone. Just a little jab in there.
“They would have [crossed paths]. [Neville] would have gone to the gantry straightaway, you’re not going to go and search out someone when you’re preparing for a game.
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“I see why people are saying he didn’t need to do that but from a player’s perspective, no player is happy when a pundit is criticising them.”
Ferdinand actually went on to make the bold claim that Ronaldo’s decision to ignore his old teammate would have been “pre-meditated”, while also poking fun at Neville for “looking nervous” as the forward approached the trio of pundits.
Perhaps more surprisingly, Ferdinand appeared to suggest he agreed with the way Ronaldo operated by admitting he’d have done something similar had he been subject to the same criticism.
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