Rio Ferdinand Reveals Why Man United Boss Is Benching Ronaldo, Casemiro

Rio Ferdinand has admitted manager Erik Ten Hag is right to bench Cristiano Ronaldo and his former Real Madrid teammate, Casemiro.

Ronaldo, who returned to United in 2021 after 12 years at Real Madrid and Juventus, has not started any of the club’s last four Premier League games. The five-time Ballon d’Or winner has been forced to play a role from the bench, with former United defender Ferdinand claiming Ten Hag made the right call in dropping Ronaldo.

However, he believes the 37-year-old will eventually win back his place. The Portuguese captain has not started any of United’s last four Premier League fixtures.

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Ten Hag has preferred Marcus Rashford upfront to lead his attack, but Ferdinand reckons his former United team-mate Ronaldo will re-establish himself as an automatic starter – alongside his former Real Madrid team-mate Casemiro.

“He’ll be pissed, he won’t be happy,” Ferdinand told William Hill.

“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.”