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Solskjaer hits back at Ferdinand’s Ronaldo jibe

Ole Gunnar Solskjaer, Cristiano Ronaldo, Rio Ferdinand
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The Red Devils boss has claimed Rio Ferdinand ‘sometimes comments on things he doesn’t really know’ after his remarks about Cristiano Ronaldo’s touchline behavior.

Ole Gunnar Solskjaer has brushed off Rio Ferdinand’s remarks about Cristiano Ronaldo being on the touchline in Tuesday’s Champions League defeat to BSC Young Boys.

Ronaldo, who scored United’s goal in the 2-1 defeat, made way for Jesse Lingard in the 72nd-minute. The forward and his compatriot Bruno Fernandes later appeared on the touchline next to Solskjaer, who explained they were complaining about the referee’s leniency following Christopher Martins’ challenge on Nemanja Matic – not trying to run the team.

The scene, however, drew concern from Ferdinand, who insists he would’ve told Ronaldo ‘to sit down’.

What did Ferdinand say?

“If I’m the manager, I’ve got to be honest, I’m telling him to sit down,” Ferdinand told BT Sport after the match.

“I get it. You know, with Cristiano people go, ‘Oh it’s bravado, it’s for the fans’. He’s just a passionate guy. He wants to win, he’s desperate to win, and he can’t hold it in.

“If that means he has to go up there and stand next to the manager, shouting instructions etc etc, so be it. When it’s someone of his standing and stature in the game, how can you argue with it?”

Solskjaer clears the air

In response to Ferdinand’s comments, Solskjaer said: “Rio, again you know, sometimes he comments on things he doesn’t really know.

“It should have been a yellow card for the boy when he brought down Nemanja. Both Bruno and Cristiano, as competitive as they are, suddenly I had them on my shoulder.

“They were there for a brief spell and shouted to the referee. That was the aggravation of getting a few bad decisions against us.”

It’s now the second time in recent weeks that Solskjaer has hit back at Ferdinand after previously slamming his criticism of defender Phil Jones as ‘out of order’.

To be fair, Ferdinand did apologize for his remarks once he discovered how badly Jones has struggled with injuries.

Ronaldo is set to return to action for Manchester United on Sunday afternoon away to West Ham in the Premier League. For match details, check out this link here.

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