Jamie Carragher didn't miss the opportunity to tease Gary Neville about his snub from Cristiano Ronaldo as the punditry duo debated the megastar's future at Manchester United.
Neville was infamously blanked by former teammate Ronaldo ahead of the Red Devils' recent 1-0 win against West Ham, choosing to shake the hands of other pundits instead - just as ex- Liverpool defender Carragher had been back in August. In typically jovial fashion, Carragher rubbed salt in Neville's wounds when the pair were back on camera together for the first time this Monday.
Discussing the disgruntled Ronaldo's potential departure from United in the January transfer window on The Overlap Fan Debate, Neville began: "Do you know what I really hope about Cristiano if he has played his last Manchester Utd game," only for Carragher cut him off and quip: "He shakes your hand?"
The Liverpool legend had the audience in stitches, as Neville shook his head before adding in jest: "Please Cristiano," while simulating a praying stance with his hands. Carragher kept goading him by saying: "You bottled that one didn't you? Come on!"
Neville, holding back his laughter, bit back by asking: "Have you seen your clip?" His fellow pundit mockingly responded: "I don't mind, he's not my mate. He's your mate!" A squirming Neville then claimed: "He's not my mate!" to which Carragher jokingly replied: "He's not now."
In truth, the former United right-back, who spent six years sharing a dressing room with Ronaldo from 2003 to 2009, hopes that the five-time Ballon d'Or will come out and discuss his future in the coming days. The Red Devils play their final Premier League game before the season pauses for the World Cup on Sunday, and there are only two more matches in late December prior to the January window opening.
"No seriously, do you know I think he should do? I think he should actually speak," Neville declared, having witnessed Ronaldo's meteoric rise first-hand during the Portuguese's first spell at Old Trafford. "No one has heard him speak for six months. You don't hear from him."
The ex-United stalwart went on to praise boss Erik ten Hag's handling of the tricky situation, with the out-of-form Ronaldo still desperate to leave the club after pleading to be let go in pre-season. "I think he's handled it so well," Neville added on Ten Hag's management.
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"I even thought Ole [Gunnar Solskjaer] to an extent and [Ralf] Rangnick last season handle him quite well at times when he obviously wasn't happy. I think Erik ten Hag has handled it far better than most of us would have handled it. He's basically sailing the ship into the shore as I see it.
"I said a couple of weeks ago, I hope there has been a deal done that says in January you can leave. For both of them, Cristiano Ronaldo and the club. But they should make sure it looks really good until then so doesn't look like a mess. I am hoping this is what it is. He's playing, he's captain. It looks like they smoothed things over and then he leaves in January."
