Cristiano Ronaldo may have been “fuming” to not start for Manchester United again - but didn’t let it show as he played a prank on his old teammate Rio Ferdinand.
For the second time in a week, Erik ten Hag named a United starting XI without the 37-year-old forward. Ronaldo has made it clear that he hopes to leave Old Trafford, less than a year after making a stunning return to the club.
After missing out on the Champions League last season - despite scoring 24 goals in all competitions - the Portuguese has expressed his desire to get a move. Those moves haven’t been forthcoming however and with just days of the window remaining, he looks set to suffer transfer frustration.
That uncertainty surrounding his future, twinned with a desire for a high-intensity, pressing style means Ten Hag has opted to leave the former Real Madrid star on the bench for all but one game this season. Ronaldo did return to the line-up for the defeat against Brentford, but was back on the bench for the win over Liverpool and remained there for the trip to Southampton.
And while he cut a forlorn figure once the action was underway, Ronaldo showed he was capable of a laugh before - at the expense of BT Sport pundit Ferdinand. Having already shared hugs with both Paul Scholes and the ex-United defender, standing off-camera he sprayed water at Ferdinand’s cream suede shoes.
Ferdinand was a little unimpressed, but presenter Lynsey Hipgrave and co-pundits Scholes and Peter Crouch saw the funny side of it. “Not the suede bro, Cristiano!” Ferdinand tweeted alongside the video.
Ronaldo was summoned from the bench in the second half, given around 25 minutes to make an impact with his side leading 1-0 through a goal from Bruno Fernandes. But with the transfer deadline coming just hours after United’s next match, it remains to be seen whether the game against the Saints will be the final time he appears in a United squad.
On Ronaldo’s response to being left out of the side again, Ferdinand mused: “He’ll be fuming, 100 per cent, we all worked with superstars. We’ve seen players being dropped before and they don’t understand it because they have total belief in who they are, what they are and what they bring to the table.
“He won’t be looking at the negatives that people are bringing out, he’ll be looking ‘I bring goals to the table, I bring winning mentality, why aren’t I playing?’ and some people will say you’re only thinking about yourself and that’s selfish but that’s what gets these players to the top.”
Asked if Ronaldo will still be a United player come September 2, Ferdinand added: “It depends on whether he’s happy to be in this position and play second fiddle or does he see himself that comes in and takes that shirt again? Only he can answer that question, we have to play the waiting game now.”
