Gary Neville addresses infamous Cristiano Ronaldo snub and how it affected their relationship
Gary Neville has lifted the lid on his relationship with Cristiano Ronaldo following the Portuguese star's infamous on-field snub.
Ronaldo was accused of whitewashing Gary Neville live on Sky Sports ahead of Manchester United's Premier League clash against West Ham in October 2022.
During the pre-match build-up, Ronaldo exchanged pleasantries with former team-mate Louis Saha and Jamie Redknapp, but left without acknowledging his broadcasting colleague Neville.
The situation arose from Ronaldo's antics when he was benched during United's 2-0 win over Tottenham two weeks earlier.
He was seen running down the tunnel in the closing stages of the match after former United manager Erik ten Hag He chose not to bring it.
The act of petulance led to him being eliminated from the 1-1 draw in Chelsea the following week, prompting Neville to admit that he wanted Ronaldo to “leave the club”.
Neville said at the time: “For me, Erik ten Hag had no choice, no choice. Cristiano has left the field twice, that cannot be done. On the eve of the preseason he asked for a transfer, he is putting together a list of things. It's a tough ending and Ten Hag is trying to establish control.
“Finishing it this week or creating a truce to get to the World Cup is not doing him any favors. Leaving the locker room before full time, that's not what he does, if you're doing things like that you have to leave.”
Ronaldo has since stayed away from the Sky Sports pundit, something Neville is regularly mocked for by his broadcast colleagues.
And with Ronaldo scoring again on international duty, Neville was asked by his colleague Jamie Carragher about his relationship with the Portuguese superstar.
He told The Overlap US: “He has never stopped being my friend.
“To be fair, the situation at United at the end, he went and did that interview with Piers Morgan, I didn't feel it was the right way to end it, personally.
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“I feel like he's a guy who's accomplished basically everything in the game and more.
“He's at 910 goals, which is absolutely scandalous. And he's going to finish with 1,000, there's no way that guy, with his way of believing and thinking, is going to finish without 1,000. He'll keep going until he gets there.
“The way he gets there and keeps going is incredible. His determination and willingness to keep going and stay professional every year is fantastic.”
After Carragher further mocked Ronaldo's snub to Neville in 2022, he added: “To be fair, I never spoke to him before for eight or nine years.
“I was not a friend of Cristiano when he played for the club. He was a great teammate, a special player.
“I think he helped Manchester United enormously in his day and I think Manchester United were also very good for him, as were the senior players around him in terms of principles and that's where I became disappointed with him at United in the end. .
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“There were a group of young players at United at the time, like Mark Rashford and Mason Greenwood and a couple of other young players who were struggling with the pressure and exposure of Man United and he was a guy who could carry this on his shoulders in abundance.
“At the time I was hoping he wasn't the guy sitting on the bench behind the manager at Brentford sulking.
“I didn't expect him to leave the field at the end of the game. Everton match in which he had been replaced at the beginning of the Ole (Gunnar Solskjaer) era.
“Things like that are not him.”
Neville continued: “There are times when the leader stands up as if Harry Kane what he has done with England, he speaks with authority to ensure that the rules are followed.
“I felt like sometimes that didn't happen at United but I'm sure he was incredibly frustrated by the level of player and the football he was seeing because he has incredible standards.”
“I see it from their point of view, but I think it's just a difference in how to deal with it.”
