Rio Ferdinand has detailed Cristiano Ronaldo’s ‘calculated’ snub of Jamie Carragher in the build-up to Liverpool’s clash against Manchester United.
Erik Ten Hag picked up his first points of the season with a 2-1 win on Monday night, courtesy of goals from Jadon Sancho and Marcus Rashford. Mohamed Salah pulled one back for the Reds with nine minutes left, but the Egyptian’s header was little more than consolation after a lacklustre performance and a third straight winless game.
Red Devils boss Ten Hag made several bold selection choices following their 4-0 defeat at Brentford last weekend, with club captain Harry Maguire and Cristiano Ronaldo both benched. The Portuguese striker, rarely one to avoid the limelight, made a spontaneous appearance live on Sky Sports’ Monday Night Football to greet former teammates Gary Neville and Roy Keane – but it was his snub of former Reds defender Carragher that caught the eye.
READ MORE: Liverpool transfer news LIVE - Moises Caicedo bid, Jude Bellingham update, Man United reaction
READ MORE: What Bruno Fernandes said to Jurgen Klopp in 'emotional' exchange after Liverpool defeat
"I think Cristiano is very aware of the Liverpool-Man United rivalry," Ferdinand told his FIVE YouTube show. "That would’ve been one of the things but knowing Cristiano, I know Jamie Carragher has been very vocal about ‘Cristiano’s the problem’ and stuff like that. Trust me, Cristiano would’ve seen those comments and walking over there thinking ‘I’ll just let this guy know, he needs to calm down’ and humiliate him, show him up – whatever way you want to dress it up live on TV.
"Cristiano is very calculated, he knows what’s going on, he’s not somebody who sits at home and switches off. I’ve always said, he uses social media, peoples comments as fuel to drive him on to be the best. He's done that since he was a young kid. Anyone who spoke about him, he knew about it in the media. He mentioned to me once Gary Lineker because Lineker’s a massive (Lionel) Messi fan and I’m thinking ‘bro, you’re not even in this country, how are you seeing the footage?’
"He knows everything. For Jamie Carragher to continually call him out, he’s got his right to his own opinion, someone like Cristiano would take that personally and show it because he’s an emotional guy, his actions were no surprise to me. I found it funny, I found it hilarious to be honest."
Carragher appeared to offer Ronaldo his microphone in a bid to catch a spontaneous interview with the former Real Madrid man, following claims that he wants to leave the club and has become isolated within the squad. Whether the Red Devils striker snubbed the interview offer or Carragher personally is unknown, but he also chose not to reply to presenter Dave Jones who asked if he would like to answer a few questions.
Ronaldo has vowed to tell all in an interview in the coming weeks after what he has claimed to be false reporting of his situation in the media.
READ NEXT
