“Knowing Cristiano, it’s gone isn’t it” – Rio Ferdinand says he would’ve taken cheeky ‘jab’ at Gary Neville instead of snubbing him like Ronaldo in Manchester United handshake row

Rio Ferdinand believes the working relationship between former Manchester United teammates Cristiano Ronaldo and Gary Neville is 'gone.'

The trio were all teammates at Old Trafford for six seasons under Sir Alex Ferguson and achieved great success. But while on punditry duty with Sky Sports on Sunday, 30 October, before Manchester United's clash with West Ham, Neville was chatting with Louis Saha and Jamie Redknapp.

Ronaldo then came over to say hello, before snubbing his former teammate by not shaking his hand, in what appeared to be a deliberate move. The Portuguese was in the news earlier in the campaign when he blanked Jamie Carragher on TV.

Ferdinand believes that Ronaldo's actions were deliberate, although he would have gone about it in a different way. The former England defender claims he would have aimed a dig at his former Manchester United captain, as Ferdinand said on his "Vibe with Five" YouTube channel (as per GOAL):

"I don't think Cristiano is taking that call (if Neville calls him). Knowing Cristiano it's gone isn't it. You've said what you said and believe what you believe. Nev looked nervous (pitch-side), I have seen that face before and he looked nervous, 'Is he gonna talk to me?'.

"I think what I would have done differently if I was recreating that scenario, I would maybe have gone and shook a couple of hands and said: 'You talk too much, cya later' and then gone. Just a little jab in there.''

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Erik ten Hag believes 'it's possible' for Cristiano Ronaldo to score 20 goals this season for Manchester United

The legendary Portuguese attacker has scored just three times in all competitions this season following a difficult start to the campaign. It became clear in the summer that Ronaldo wanted to leave Old Trafford as he failed to attend Manchester United's preseason tour.

But the five-time Ballon d'Or winner put on an improved display during the 1-0 win over West Ham on Sunday (30 October), which prompted a reporter to ask Ten Hag if Ronaldo can match his goal tally from last season when he scored 24 goals across all competitions. The Manchester United boss replied (as per The Guardian):

“It’s up to him. But I think when you collect all the chances he creates, the team creates for him in the last weeks, you see he’s still capable of getting in the right positions and he’s still capable of finishing them. I think it’s possible, yeah.”