"I know for a fact that he will be absolutely fuming" – Rio Ferdinand weighs in on Cristiano Ronaldo sitting on the bench for Manchester United

Former Manchester United defender Rio Ferdinand has claimed that Portuguese superstar Cristiano Ronaldo is "absolutely fuming" after being demoted to the bench in his team's last two matches.

Ronaldo, who is in the final year of his contract at Old Trafford, has been a hot topic of discussion since the start of the ongoing transfer window. After expressing his desire to leave the Red Devils last month, the forward has failed to secure a permanent move to a UEFA Champions League-qualified club so far this summer.

Since the start of the 2022-23 Premier League season, Ronaldo has managed to start just one match for Manchester United – the 4-0 humiliation at Brentford. He was dropped to the bench for his team's back-to-back victories against Liverpool and Southampton.

Speaking on his YouTube channel 'Vibe with Five', Ferdinand addressed the issue involving the five-time Ballon d'Or winner. He said:

"Whether he stays or not, none of us know. But knowing Cristiano, I know for a fact that he will be absolutely fuming right now. You don't get to do what he's done in his career over this amazing amount of time at the levels he's been playing by being someone who's going to accept not starting for a team that isn't in the UEFA Champions League."

He continued:

"Ronaldo is not built like that. You can't expect him to change at 37. He'd have been the same at 21. We were talking before the game with [Paul] Scholes – I remember when [David] Beckham got dropped a couple of games, he [was] fuming. Superstars are built differently."

Ferdinand added:

"They don't believe they have bad games, they don't believe they don't play well [and] they don't believe they get things wrong in their game because they are so hell-bent on success and their belief in their skills and themselves that they don't see failures."

Ronaldo was reportedly linked with Chelsea, Real Madrid, Atletico Madrid, Bayern Munich and Paris Saint-Germain earlier this summer (as per The Mirror). However, no transfer has yet materialized for the veteran forward.

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Paul Merson expects Cristiano Ronaldo to be benched in next Manchester United match

In his column for Sportskeeda, former Arsenal player Paul Merson shared his thoughts on the upcoming clash between United and Leicester City at the King Power Stadium on September 1. He wrote:

"Manchester United did sort of ride their luck in their 1-0 win against Southampton. I see goals in this one, so I'm going for a 2-2 draw."

He added:

"Cristiano Ronaldo didn't start the last two games and Manchester United have won, so I expect him to be on the bench this time around as well. His future is still not sorted and I'd be shocked if he stays at the club beyond the transfer window."