Rio Ferdinand says a “calculated” Cristiano Ronaldo knew what he was doing when he snubbed Jamie Carragher on live TV ahead of Manchester United’s 2-1 win over Liverpool.
The superstar, who played nine minutes after being dropped from the line-up, approached former Reds teammates Roy Keane and Gary Neville who were both on punditry duty alongside Carragher for Sky Sports. After greeting Neville, he blanked Carragher before shaking the hand of Keane.
The former Liverpool defender has been vocal about how he feels United should sell Ronaldo, something he voiced even before the superstar had handed in a transfer request this summer. Ferdinand says Ronaldo would have seen Carragher’s comments about this and made the point of ignoring him during the pitch-side exchange on Monday, which he found "funny".
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“I think Cristiano is very aware of the Liverpool-Man United rivalry,” Ferdinand told YouTube show FIVE. “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.”
He added: “ 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, people’s comments as fuel to drive him on to be the best, he’s done that since he was a young kid. 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.”
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