Cristiano Ronaldo was unable to hide his frustrations with Manchester United colleague Mason Greenwood during the first half of their clash with West Ham.
The 36-year-old has spoken publicly about the attitude of younger players and their ability to take criticism and improve.
"If I give you advice, even if you are younger than me, if you don't implant that during your daily life, it will be difficult,” he told Sky Sports earlier this month.
"I can speak all day with that person, but if it's not coming from inside of you, it's impossible. I remember when I was 18, 19, 20, some older players spoke with me, but I put that as: 'Cristiano, you have to improve — they know more than you, they are more experienced than you, they passed through many bad moments.'
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"But other people, they don't accept that, if you criticise them. I don't say this in relation to our players, but in general. I have kids, I know. Sometimes when you're a little bit harder, they do the opposite, so you have to find the right balance to speak with them."
While Ronaldo didn’t specifically mention Greenwood, 20, the two forwards have struggled to mesh in the opening months of the season.
However, Ralf Rangnick has continued to persist with the talented youngster, who has six goals in all competitions this season.
Greenwood was named on the right-hand side of United’s attack against the Hammers with Ronaldo utilised centrally.
But it was a similar story when yet another Ronaldo free-kick struck the wall and Greenwood attempted to fire in a rebound, leaving the veteran striker visibly annoyed that he didn’t cross the ball back towards them.
Minutes later, Bruno Fernandes freed the England international after a swift counter, but after cutting in and seeing his shot blocked, Ronaldo can be seen throwing his arms up in the air in disgust.
The Portuguese icon has come in for criticism for some negative body language on the pitch, but failed to hide his disappointment on a number of occasions in the opening 45.
United legend Gary Neville has previously claimed that Ronaldo and Fernandes’ public signs of annoyance are extremely unhelpful to his young teammates, including Greenwood.
“They’re the two senior players in that dressing room,” Neville told Sky Sports after the draw with Newcastle. “It’s devastating for the younger players if the two best players in the team are looking at the others as if they’re not good enough.
“It’s annoyed me for about two months. It’s devastating when the best players in the team are giving that look and that body language. They have to be a father, a grandparent.”
