Rio Ferdinand believes Erik ten Hag has made a mistake with his handling of Cristiano Ronaldo (Picture: BT Sport / Getty)

Rio Ferdinand has accused Erik ten Hag of sending mixed messages to Cristiano Ronaldo and believes the Manchester United manager must accept his share of the blame in what is becoming an increasingly toxic situation.

Ronaldo will play no part in Saturday’s heavyweight Premier League match between United and Chelsea at Stamford Bridge after he refused to come on as a late substitute against Tottenham in midweek.

The 37-year-old was asked to train with the Under-21s on Friday after holding crunch talks with his manager who opted to take a hardline stance with the superstar forward who departed Old Trafford on Wednesday before the final whistle.

Ten Hag has received widespread praise for the way in which he has handed Ronaldo’s latest act of defiance but Ferdinand believes there has been a breakdown in communication.

Ronaldo’s former teammate told BT Sport: ‘He (Ronaldo) would say I would probably have handled that differently if it happened again.

‘But you look at him and you think you know what I’m preparing myself to play games, I need to get myself right, communicate that to me so I can be ready for the weekend.

‘Throw me five minutes here and two minutes there. It was disrespectful against Man City to bring me on for a few minutes in that game so why’s it not disrespectful to do it here?

‘What signals is that sending to me? I think prevention in all these cases is the key. Foresee this happening before it happens and communicate to the player because you know he expects to play, expects to score goals, expects to be relied upon.

‘Nobody says he’s right in this situation but the way it’s panned out you can see how a player can react. Not just Cristiano Ronaldo but any player in this situation.’

Ferdinand, who shared a dressing room with the five-time Ballon d’Or winner for six years, has, himself, been criticised for refusing to outright condemn Ronaldo’s petulance.

‘He’s my mate and you want to see your friends do well,’ said Ferdinand. ‘But at the same time I wouldn’t condone that in the changing room if I was there. I would be on to him and say what are you doing?

‘You’d have that conversation and argument. But there’s always two sides to a story and I will reiterate if you are not communicating then problems arise and in that situation that’s been the case.’

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The saga rumbles on.