“Ten Hag Was Right To Bench Ronaldo And Casemiro” – Rio Ferdinand

Rio Ferdinand, a former Manchester United defender, has acknowledged that manager Erik Ten Hag was correct to bench Cristiano Ronaldo.

In United’s last four Premier League games, Ronaldo has not taken the field as a starter, with Marcus Rashford being Ten Hag’s favourite offensive leader up front.

Ferdinand, however, predicts that the 37-year-old will eventually reclaim his position.

He believes that Casemiro and former Real Madrid teammate Ronaldo will both reclaim their spots as automatic starters.

Ferdinand said, “He’ll be pissed, he won’t be happy.

“You don’t get to do what he’s done over that period of time and be happy and content to be on the bench, or not to be getting the numbers you want to be getting. But he’ll be professional, he’ll be focused because he’ll know his time’s going to come.

“He hasn’t had a pre-season, so I understand why he’s not playing, and Marcus Rashford is scoring and assisting goals at the moment, so I understand why he’s staying in the team.

“The team is the overriding factor at the moment. The way United started the season, they’re making sure the team is doing the right things and forgetting about individuals.

“Obviously, Casemiro is a big signing but isn’t playing. Ronaldo isn’t playing, but their time will come. And, when their time comes, I think they’ll both stay in the team. I just think that will be the case and the manager will shift it about.”