Agbonlahor brands Ronaldo selfish, Ferdinand defends forward
Ronaldo reportedly asked Man United last weekend to allow him to leave if a reasonable offer is made for his services this summer.
Nigerian-born former Aston Villa captain, Gabriel Agbonlahor, has hit out at Manchester United forward Cristiano Ronaldo, insisting that the five-time Ballon d’Or winner only cares about himself and not the Red Devils.
Ronaldo reportedly asked Man United last weekend to allow him leave if a reasonable offer is made for his services this summer.
Despite having 12 months remaining on his current deal, the Portugal captain is seemingly unsettled at Old Trafford after Man United failed to qualify for the UEFA Champions League last season.
His agent, Jorge Mendes, has held talks with a host of clubs, including Chelsea, Bayern Munich, AS Roma and Barcelona, over a potential move for his client.
Speaking on talkSPORT, Agbonlahor claimed that Man United need Ronaldo now more than ever, but the 37-year-old wants to jump ship.
The former England international said, “I’m not surprised one bit, he [Ronaldo] doesn’t want to play in the Europa League. In the last few years of his career, he wants to play in the Champions League.
“But if I was a Manchester United fan, the biggest disappointment would be that he doesn’t care about Manchester United, he cares about Ronaldo.
“He wants to play in the Champions League, he wants to score more UCL goals, he wants to win more titles. United are a million miles away from any of that. He just cares about himself, he doesn’t care about United because they need him now and he wants to jump ship.
“He doesn’t want to be there and it just shows that it’s the Ronaldo show and not the United show.”
misses training for the third straight day... and says the wantaway forward has every right to be 'disgruntled' at Old Trafford
But Rio Ferdinand has jumped to the defence of Ronaldo after the Portuguese forward missed Manchester United training for the third day in a row.
'Of course he's not happy!' Ferdinand said on his FIVE YouTube Channel. 'You're talking about Cristiano Ronaldo here! I don't understand how it's a big story that Cristiano Ronaldo is not happy with the way things are at Man United. He can't be. I wouldn't be.
'Anyone who wants to win football matches or trophies, anyone who is used to winning and competing every year at the top of the table for the biggest prizes, and then all of a sudden isn't - and doesn't even qualify for the Champions League - you can't sit here and expect them to be happy.
'He's not happy with missing out on the Champions League, he doesn't even know what the Europa League soundtrack sounds like! When that comes on, he's going to be thinking "what dance am I in here?"'
Ferdinand said. 'I've been seeing people being a touch disrespectful,' he said. 'The way that people are questioning 'he's not here' and the hysteria surrounding it. A member of his family is not well, so he's not at training.
'This is the most consummate, most professional athlete that we've seen on these shores. The most professional athlete we've seen for over 15 years and people are questioning this guy's professionalism and why he's not at the training ground.
'Yeah he might want to leave, he might not be happy with certain things at the football club, but in terms of professionalism, this guy is training where he is - we've seen the pictures. His family are there, he needs to be where they are and you have to respect that. Simple as. Could it have been communicated better by the club? Probably.'
Ferdinand also criticised United for a lack of transfer activity so far this summer, suggesting that they have failed to convince Ronaldo that it is a club worth staying at.
