Rio Ferdinand claims Cristiano Ronaldo 's presence in the Manchester United dressing room makes it more than worth tolerating the occasional incident when he will "throw his toys out the pram".
Ronaldo, 36, found himself in the spotlight once again during United's 3-1 victory over Brentford on Wednesday night.
The Portuguese superstar was visibly furious about being substituted in the 71st minute and took aim at interim manager Ralf Rangnick as he made for the bench.
It was not the first time his anger towards colleagues has been on show this season, as he could not hide his frustrations with Marcus Rashford during December's 1-1 draw at Newcastle.
There are also claims of an uneasy relationship between Ronaldo and teammate Mason Greenwood amid reports of wider problems behind the scenes at Old Trafford.
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However, Ferdinand believes Ronaldo remains a key role model for United's youngsters and pointed to Anthony Elanga's post-match interview to illustrate his point.
Elanga, 19, opened the scoring against Brentford and declared it is an "honour" to line up alongside and train with five-time Ballon d'Or-winner Ronaldo each day.
Ferdinand was quizzed on whether Ronaldo's substitution spat with Rangnick could be setting a poor example to his junior teammates, and he gave an emphatic response arguing the opposite.
"I think it's important to listen to what Elanga said after in his comments, in his interview, that he feels blessed to be on the pitch with Ronaldo, a superstar, a great like him," the United legend told BT Sport.
"They all feed off him and I think it's important that those young players... I've said it time and time again, when you've got a player like that [Ronaldo] in your dressing room, you've got to feed off it.
"I went into a changing room full of winners, full of people that had won multiple league titles and other trophies, and I sat there like a sponge looking at the little details in the way that they prepared, the way that they sort themselves out after a game and the way they get up for games, they way they eat and recuperate.
"You've got to take in every single element that is there at your fingertips when you've got someone like that. And these young players, I think, are in a fortunate position to be with someone like him.
"Yeah, he might moan and throw his toys out the pram, but, when you're with someone like that, you've got to take all the goodness out of it."
Ronaldo is United's top scorer this season with 14 goals in 22 appearances in all competitions.
