Manchester United boss Erik ten Hag has been accused of disrespecting new signing Casemiro after once again benching the Brazil star in the club's 6-3 defeat to town rivals Manchester City on the weekend.
United had an afternoon to forget at the Etihad on Sunday, having gone into the half-time break 4-0 down.
A moment of brilliance by winger Antony saw the Red Devils pull one back before Erling Haaland and Phil Foden completed their hat-tricks by the 73rd minute.
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Substitute Anthony Martial did score a late brace, but the damage was already done.
What caught the attention of many was the omission of Ronaldo and Casemiro from the team's starting XI once again, with the latter coming on for Scott McTominay in the 59th minute. The Portugal captain, though, stayed on the bench.
Manager Ten Hag has since explained that he did not send Ronaldo on "out of respect for his big career", while he said of Casemiro: "On the day we signed him, we started to win and it's about the team. The team is doing really well, it's not against Casemiro, it's for, in this case, Scott McTominay, he performed great in the team and then we get into a run. But I'm sure it will be important for us in the long and short-term, he [Casemiro] will find himself in the team, but it has to come in a natural way."
The Dutch tactician's decision to leave the Selecao star out of his starting XI has since been criticised by former Red Devils defender Rio Ferdinand, who insisted the player will be feeling disrespected by the snub.
"Casemiro's another one, he's sitting there going, 'I've won five Champions Leagues with this team'," Ferdinand said on his FIVE YouTube channel after United's defeat to City.
"I've heard people today say, 'if he plays he needs legs around him, he can't play with [Christian] Eriksen and Bruno [Fernandes]'.
"This geezer played with two snails in [Luka] Modric and Toni Kroos – he just knows his way around a football pitch.
"He is a fantastic defensive midfielder, one of, if not the best, in the world before he came to Man United."
When it was suggested that Casemiro's form for United meant he should not have started ahead of McTominay for the game against City, Ferdinand replied: "You can't say that. I wonder the impact it's having on someone like him.
"Yes he's experienced and what-not, but he must be sitting there thinking, 'Wow, I'm happy to be here at Man United but I'm feeling a little bit disrespected here, given what I've done'. I'd be surprised if he's not feeling like that.
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"I think we will [see Ronaldo and Casemiro play], but I think it's the context of what games they're playing in – they could be playing midweek Europa game. That won't sit well with them.
"They'd be sitting there going, 'wow, I'm like the Rumbelows Cup player right now, the Carabao Cup player'."
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