Rio Ferdinand has made the bold claim that Erik ten Hag's treatment of Cristiano Ronaldo is not fair despite the fact the forward stormed down the Old Trafford tunnel before full-time.
Manchester United ran out 2-0 winners over Tottenham in what was a dominant display from the Red Devils, who never looked like losing as they battered their visitors and even registered an astonishing 28 shots on goal over the course of the entire game.
However, the post-match discourse was not centred around anything positive from a United perspective. Instead, it was all about Ronaldo, who was an unused substitute but somehow still managed to make himself the main talking point as he left the field of play before the game had ended.
Television cameras picked up the 37-year-old walking off while the game was going on behind him, with Ronaldo only momentarily glancing back to see the action before entering the dressing room. Ten Hag's post-match remarks suggested there could be further discussion between the two over the incident.
"He was there, I have seen him but I didn't speak. I will deal with that tomorrow not today. We're celebrating this victory and now we have to recover and another big game on Saturday, Chelsea. The Premier League, so exciting," the United boss told Amazon Prime.
While the general consensus appears to be that Ronaldo was in the wrong for storming off, United legend Ferdinand clearly feels Ten Hag must shoulder at least some of the blame.
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"If he doesn't see Cristiano Ronaldo as a starter in his team more often than not, he has to release him from the contract, let him go," the ex-England star told his Vibe with FIVE podcast.
"It's not fair on anybody, on Cristiano, on Erik ten Hag, or the players, if after every game the first question is 'Why didn't Cristiano start?' and that's the story. It's going to be something which probably hampers him, [Ten Hag] going forward."
Ferdinand's suggestion that the forward's omission from every starting line-up will be a major talking point certainly rings true.
United were arguably operating at the highest level they have all season against Spurs, yet it seems to have been forgotten due to the controversy surrounding Ronaldo.
The five-time Ballon d'Or winner has been a bit-part player at best for United this season, managing the full 90 minutes just once - the humiliating 4-0 defeat away at Brentford on match-day two.
Ten Hag has turned the tide on United's recent fortunes with an impressive turnaround in form, with little to no help from their iconic number seven.
