Rio Ferdinand names three Man United stars who would have stopped Chelsea tantrum

Rio Ferdinand has named three former Manchester United players in his criticism of Noni Madueke. The Chelsea winger was visibly upset after being taken off during Sunday's draw with Arsenal, choosing not to sit on the bench but instead heading straight down the tunnel.

His actions clearly demonstrated his dissatisfaction, a display that Ferdinand believes does no one any favours. Reflecting on his own time at United, he stated that none of the younger players he played alongside would have behaved in such a manner.

The former centre-back pointed out that Chelsea's squad is largely made up of young players with few senior professionals to guide them. Speaking on his podcast, he said: "You think (Danny) Welbeck or Tom Cleverly or Nani are going to storm off the pitch and throw their dummy out?

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"It's disrespectful to your teammates as well. It's a young team. Who are the experienced players who are going to go in there and say, 'Woah, we don't accept that here'? And I understand his thinking, but at the same time, I don't understand why you are doing that."

Enzo Maresca, however, defended his player, who has had an impressive start to the season, acknowledging that no player likes to be substituted. "The problem is when you change a player, they are never happy," he admitted.

Ferdinand expressed his shock at the Chelsea manager's decision to downplay Madueke's outburst, almost excusing his behaviour. He humorously remarked that this is precisely why he could never take on a managerial role, as he wouldn't be able to say the diplomatically correct things to the press but would rather impose a fine immediately.

He added: "That's where the manager comes in. I think the manager protecting him is mad. And that's why I couldn't be in there [as a manager], because I couldn't come out and play the game where you say, 'Yeah, he was in the wrong, but [he's a good kid].' Fined, that's a two-week fine."

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