Cristiano Ronaldo should have started against Manchester City – Rio Ferdinand

Former Manchester United defender Rio Ferdinand believes Cristiano Ronaldo should have started against Manchester City. The Red Devils suffered a huge drubbing as they were beaten by City 6-3 at the Etihad Stadium on Sunday.

Erik Ten Hag decided to bench the Portuguese and didn’t even bring him on in the second half. The Dutchman revealed that he wanted to save Cristiano Ronaldo from the humiliation after United was down by 4-0 at half-time.

Former Manchester United captain Roy Keane also believes it was disrespectful to not play Cristiano Ronaldo against Manchester City while talking to Sky Sports. 

Ronaldo was United’s best player in the previous season as he had scored a total of 24 goals across all competitions but he has started in only one game in the ongoing season.

While echoing Keane’s thoughts, Ferdinand said on his YouTube Channel FIVE: “You can’t have your top goalscorer who scored 24/25 goals a season on the bench. I see Roy Keane talking about it, I totally agree. 

“This pressing business, we are so concerned with what people don’t do, what’s he good at? The hardest thing in football is scoring goals and this guy does it as well if not better than anybody. 

“You’ve got him sitting there. Plus the character, plus the personality, the big-time mentality, and understanding this is a big opportunity to put my name up in lights. 

“He’s not scared of it. He’s not going to go on the pitch shirking responsibility a shadow of his former self. He’s going ‘I’m Cristiano Ronaldo.”

Manchester United will next face Omonia on Thursday in the Europa league.