After Jamie Carragher, it is now Gary Neville who got blanked by Cristiano Ronaldo on air. The 37-year-old forward snubbed his former teammate of a handshake prior to Manchester United’s clash against West Ham at Old Trafford. Ronaldo’s snub comes after Neville slammed him for his antics during the Red Devils’ win over Tottenham, where the Portugal international refused to come-on as a substitute and left the stadium earlier than his teammates.
Neville has been critical of Ronaldo’s conduct at United this season, after he couldn’t secure a move away from the club in search of Champions League football. The former Real Madrid forward’s frustration has been on display at Old Trafford, as new boss Erik ten Hag has further dropped him from his plans. The Dutchman has handed Ronaldo only 3 starts in 9 league games he has been available for, which has irked the forward. He is now looking to find a new club in January, as Neville urged the club to let him leave after he threw the tantrums in Tottenham win.
Not the same player – Neville lashes out at Cristiano Ronaldo
Cristiano Ronaldo hasn’t been kind to those who spoken against his behaviour this season. Neville is not the first one to be blanked by the mercurial forward, as Carragher has earlier been there. Following the former Liverpool defender’s consistent criticising of Cristiano, the Portuguese during United’s August game against Liverpool ignored Carragher and greeted Roy Keane and Gary Neville during the pre-match warm-up.
Now, Neville faced the wrath after the five-time Ballon d’Or winner left him for hanging during the West Ham game. He did meet-and-greet with Redknapp and Saha, but bluntly refused a handshake to Neville alongside whom he played for six years at the club. Micah Richards and Roy Keane caught up with the former full-back after the game, as Richards couldn’t help but ask Neville in a hilarious converstaion:
“How does it feel to be blanked, by your mate?”
Neville laughed-off:
“It just tells us something though. He is watching, he has watched…I think if I had 570million followers on Instagram I wouldn’t be arsed about Gary Neville.”
Richards further poked at Gary, “But he is your ex-teammate”, with Neville responding: “He don’t behave like someone who has played with me. Or him [Roy Keane] for that matter.”
Neville and Ronaldo shared the dressing room at Man United for six years, lifting 10 trophies together including a Champions League during the 2007/08 season. However, it seems the former Juventus man was not happy at all seeing his old friend and teammate, who has been calling for his ousting from the club. Back last week, Neville speaking about Ronaldo’s situation at United had said:
“Cristiano Ronaldo is going to have to go somewhere else and play every week because he can’t accept being on the bench. That’s fine, but end it this week or create a truce to get to the World Cup and then end it. It has to end. That’s the second time Cristiano Ronaldo has left Old Trafford and got in his car before his team have got back into the changing room.
I have to say, as someone in the dressing room, it’s something that’s unacceptable. When you look at whether Cristiano should be selected, Manchester United are better without him – and Erik ten Hag knows that. The only thing that Cristiano and the club can do is get together in the next week and end the relationship. Ronaldo can’t accept not being the star man in Manchester United’s team so he’s going to have to leave – that’s it.”
Neville’s comments have clearly not gone down well with Cristiano Ronaldo, who still is looking to quit the club post World Cup. However, it remains to be seen that after being rejected by a host of elite European clubs this summer, where will the five-time Champions League winner end-up if he opts to leave in January.