Gary Neville has dismissed Cristiano Ronaldo’s public snub by claiming he is not behaving like a Manchester United player.
The Portuguese’s conduct has been the subject of debate in recent months as the veteran continues to risk damaging his legacy at Old Trafford. The 37-year-old returned to the Red Devils to much fanfare last summer, but his second spell with the club has resulted in poor form.
Despite finishing as United’s top scorer last season, they missed out on a place in the Champions League, leaving the striker to push for a move away in the summer.
Advertisement
Cristiano Ronaldo wiped out Gary Neville before kick-off
Tensions came to a head earlier this month when Ronaldo refused to leave the bench during the win over Tottenham, before heading into the tunnel before the final whistle. The Ten Hag then ruled him out for the trip to Chelsea, as well as being kicked out of first-team training for three days.
However, after talks at Carrington last week, Ronaldo returned to the squad and returned to the starting line-up for the 1-0 win over West Ham. Unsurprisingly, there was plenty of attention on his return with Sky cameras capturing the moment he entered the pitch for pre-match warm-ups.
Advertisement
That outing also made international headlines, with Ronaldo refusing to greet his former United team-mate Neville in light of some direct comments about his situation. Last week Neville suggested the two sides should go their separate ways as soon as possible, branding Ronaldo’s behavior “unacceptable”.
Neville was asked about the incident by Sky Sports colleague Micah Richards
His Sky Sports colleagues were quick to mock Neville with Carragher ‘welcoming him to the fold’ after suffering the same fate earlier in the season.
During the clip, Richards approaches Neville – who was standing alongside Roy Keane – and asks how he felt when he was ignored by Ronaldo. Neville laughed before seriously stating that he has not acted like a player who has spent time playing under Sir Alex Ferguson’s famous United side.
Advertisement
“Tell me something though,” he told his former captain, Keane. “He’s looking at everything. I think if I had 570 million followers on Instagram, I wouldn’t worry about Gary Neville.”
Prodded that he is a former team-mate, Neville shook his head and added: “I know, but he doesn’t act like someone who played with me, or him (gesturing to Keane) for that matter.” .
Ronaldo failed to find the back of the net against the Hammers, but Ten Hag was pleased with his performance.