Manchester United legend Rio Ferdinand admits he was “shocked” and “amazed” to see Cristiano Ronaldo dropped to the bench against Everton at the weekend.
The former Red Devils defender admits he cannot understand why Ole Gunnar Solskjaer decided to rest such an in-form player, with Ronaldo proving a superb signing from Juventus this summer.
There was plenty of hype surrounding Ronaldo’s return to Old Trafford, and he’s more than justified it with five goals in his first six appearances for Solskjaer’s side.
It’s not too surprising, therefore, that Ferdinand was not impressed with the manager’s decision to bench him for the Everton game on Saturday.
“I was shocked. I was amazed,” Ferdinand said on Vibe with Five.
“He’s scored five in five, when you’re striker’s in form, why bench him? If Kane gets five in five, do they drop him? The same for Aguero or Lukaku? Do they come out the team when they’re in a rich vein of form?
“I think Ronaldo’s experienced enough to be able to say, ‘my body’s not feeling great, leave me out of this one.’
“Players like that are capable of being able to come to you because they know they’re body better than anyone else.
“Ronaldo’s frustration tells you he was ready to start, that’s where it comes from. Ole wanted to freshen up the team but it’s always a risk.”
Ferdinand’s comments were echoed by former Man Utd midfielder Luke Chadwick in an exclusive interview with CaughtOffside.
Chadwick admits he couldn’t understand why Ronaldo was rested, and added that the biggest mistake was taking both him and Paul Pogba out of the starting XI at once.
“I’m not 100% sure why he missed the Everton game, with the international break coming up,” he said.
“Still you’d think without Ronaldo that you’d keep Pogba in the starting XI, but with the two of them missing … I can’t imagine he’ll be resting them both in a league game again.”