Cristiano Ronaldo: Jamie Carragher and Rio Ferdinand row over Man Utd forward - ‘He asks you to defend him!’

Jamie Carragher called Rio Ferdinand a Cristiano Ronaldo “fan boy” as the former England duo exchanged their views on the forward being left out of Sunday’s Manchester derby. Ronaldo watched Manchester United’s 6-3 defeat to City from the bench, with the five-time Ballon d’Or winner an unused substitute as head coach Erik ten Hag opted to give Anthony Martial game-time instead.

Ad With United trailing 4-0 at half-time, Ten Had said he did not bring Ronaldo on “out of respect” for his career, to which Sky Sports pundit and former United captain Gary Neville agreed, saying it “would have been an insult”. Premier LeagueRonaldo left on bench during derby mauling 'out of respect'14 HOURS AGO The debate rumbled onto Monday, where Carragher went on to claim that the idea Ten Hag “got it wrong yesterday by not playing Ronaldo is laughable”.

He added: “Ronaldo played at Brentford when it was 4-0 at [half-time]! It's not a dig at [Ronaldo], but Rashford's pace on the counter attack as we saw v Arsenal/Liverpool was 100% the best option." In a video promoting his own “Five” podcast, Ferdinand then said “Carra you still upset he didn’t shake ur hand at Old Trafford?”, referring to the moment Ronaldo ignored Carragher back in August before Liverpool played Man Utd. Ronaldo left on bench during derby mauling 'out of respect' 'I almost can't believe what I'm watching' — Keane rips into 'sloppy' Man Utd 'Unacceptable' – Ten Hag cites Man Utd's 'lack of belief' as reason for heavy Man City loss In reponse, Carragher then said he was “delighted” that video went rival before claiming Ferdinand and former team-mate Patrice Evra are part of a WhatsApp group where Ronaldo asks them to defend him.