Ronaldo should be treated differently to other players 'whether you like it or not' - Ferdinand

• Ronaldo left early vs Spurs
• Refused to come on as substitute
• Ferdinand defended former team-mate on Saturday

WHAT HAPPENED? Ferdinand - a former team-mate of Ronaldo's - questioned the way in which Manchester United's manager has treated the 37-year-old after he left Old Trafford early during their 2-0 win over Spurs on Wednesday night.

WHAT HE SAID: Speaking on BT Sport ahead of Nottingham Forest's early kick-off win over Liverpool, Ferdinand said: "I wouldn't have been happy as a player. I probably would have been in the queue of people wanting to speak to him [Ten Hag] about that decision. I think there's two ways to look at it, and I don't condone it for one second, but there's always another side to the story.

"I think maybe communication hasn't been as maybe he [Ronaldo] would've wanted. People say 'listen you're a player in a team' but when you're dealing with someone like Cristiano Ronaldo, like it or not, he's probably the greatest footballer that's ever played football along with [Lionel] Messi. Sometimes they're afforded a way of treatment that's a little bit different to everybody else."

THE BIGGER PICTURE:
Ronaldo refused to come on as a substitute during United's midweek win, as confirmed by Ten Hag in a press conference. As a consequence of his actions, the five-time Ballon d'Or winner was dropped from the squad ahead of Saturday's trip to Chelsea and made to train away from the first team.

IN THREE PHOTOS:

WHAT NEXT FOR RONALDO? Having been dropped from the squad against Chelsea, Ronaldo has the weekend off and must turn his attention towards trying to work his way back into Ten Hag's squad for United's midweek Europa League fixture against Sheriff Tiraspol.