Rio Ferdinand fears Cristiano Ronaldo and Gary Neville’s relationship has broken down completely, with the former allegedly ignoring the Sky Sports pundit’s phone calls.
As Ronaldo exited the Old Trafford tunnel to warm up for the match against West Ham, he stopped to speak with former Red Devils forward Louis Saha, who was on punditry duty for Sky Sports. Ronaldo shook hands and warmly greeted Jamie Redknapp after speaking with Saha, but ran straight past Neville.
The former United right-back appeared uneasy, possibly anticipating a handshake that Ronaldo was not in the mood for. The 37-year-old is said to be upset by recent comments made by Neville, who suggested that United would be better off without their iconic number seven.
Ferdinand admitted on his Vibe with Five YouTube channel that he doubts Ronaldo will resolve the feud anytime soon.
“I don’t think Cristiano is going to take that call [if Neville calls].” It’s gone, Cristiano, isn’t it? “You’ve said what you’ve said and believe what you believe,” explained the former England defender”.
“I think if I were to recreate that scenario, I would have gone and shook a couple of hands and said, ‘You talk too much, see you later,’ and then gone.” “It was just a little jab in there.” They would have [crossed paths], and [Neville] would have gone straight to the gantry; you don’t go looking for someone when you’re getting ready for a game. I understand why people are saying he didn’t need to do that, but no player is happy when a pundit criticizes them.”
Ferdinand went on to say that Ronaldo’s decision to ignore his old teammate was ‘premeditated,’ while also mocking Neville for ‘looking nervous’ as the forward approached the trio of pundits.
Perhaps more surprisingly, Ferdinand appeared to agree with Ronaldo’s methods by admitting he would have done something similar if he had been subjected to the same criticism.
While constructive criticism is acceptable, the United legend believes Neville went too far in claiming the club should part ways with Ronaldo by cashing in on the Portugal captain.
Ferdinand explained how he would use those comments as fuel and admitted that he would have harbored ill will toward any member of the media who analyzed his game in the same way.
Ronaldo’s future at Manchester United will almost certainly remain a hot topic as the January transfer window approaches.