Cristiano Ronaldo's Less than Amicable Encounter with Neville on Manchester United's Turf
The five-time Ballon d'Or winner, Cristiano Ronaldo, gave former teammate Gary Neville a cold shoulder at Old Trafford before Manchester United faced West Ham United last Sunday. The cold reception came after Neville criticized Ronaldo for his recent behavior while playing for the Red Devils.
Neville pointed out Ronaldo's questionable behavior during a recent Premier League victory against Tottenham Hotspur. The Portuguese star appeared reluctant to substitute in, eventually leaving the field early.
As a result, manager Erik ten Hag dismissed Ronaldo, making him train with the youth squad for three days before he was reinstated to the first team.
Before the match began, Ronaldo approached the Sky Sports analysts, Louis Saha and Jamie Redknapp, embracing them but refraining from acknowledging Neville, who was making his first appearance for United that day.
Gary Neville isn't the first analyst to receive Ronaldo's frosty reception during this season filled with controversial incidents. Sky Sports pundit Jamie Carragher was previously treated in a similar manner, with Neville tweeting his support: "Welcome to the Ronaldo Club, @GNev2"
In a video posted by Sky Sports analyst Micah Richards, Neville seemed to laugh off the slight, saying he would not care if he had Ronaldo's massive Instagram following of 570 million followers.
Ronaldo endured a rollercoaster season this term.
Before the season started, he drew criticism for leaving a friendly match just before the final whistle and posting a now-deleted statement on Instagram, claiming that the media had lied about him.
In the statement, he claimed that out of 100 messages he had posted in the past few months, only five were true.
The striker struggled to gain traction at Old Trafford, attempting to drop out of the squad following a reunion with the Red Devils last year. Many labeled the meeting as farcical.
Ronaldo's former teammate and friend Rio Ferdinand shared his thoughts during the BBC's coverage of Euro 2020, saying, "He's an extraordinary player, but he considers everything in the game to make the most of his talents."
"That's an excellent example of how he uses negativity as fuel. They (the media) said Messi was better. He texted me, 'Why did he say that?'"
"It's about his competitive spirit, and that's what it takes to be the best."
Ronaldo scored only one goal in nine Premier League matches this season, falling behind Marcus Rashford and Anthony Martial in the United attack.
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Cristiano Ronaldo publicly displayed his disdain for football during Manchester United's most recent game against Tottenham Spurs, refusing to enter as a substitute and exiting early. Neville's criticism of Ronaldo's questionable behavior stemmed from the incident.
The source of contention: Ronaldo's behavior during the victory against Tottenham Hotspur, where the Portuguese star resisted making an entrance as a substitute and departed early.
Ronaldo responded to the controversy through tweets, defending his actions during the friendly match where he left before the final whistle and labeling media as liars.
Although Cristiano Ronaldo has not been found to have a contentious relationship with Gary Neville or other football analysts in recent search results, his behavior during the matches has triggered controversy.
