Rio Ferdinand's theory on Arsenal legend Thierry Henry's 'beef' with Cristiano Ronaldo at Man Utd

Manchester United legend Rio Ferdinand has suggested that Thierry Henry might have a bit of a 'beef' with Cristiano Ronaldo.

Ronaldo joined United when the club's rivalry with Henry's Arsenal was at its peak in the Premier League. Ronaldo was just a young lad in his first season when Henry and his teammates enjoyed their unbeaten league run, but United took back the title in 2007 before Henry moved to Barcelona.

Both Ronaldo and Henry are seen as two of the best players of the Premier League era, even though Ronaldo arguably had more of his top years at Real Madrid. But Ferdinand thinks that the Arsenal star might have a problem with Ronaldo, maybe because of the old battles between Arsenal and United.

Ferdinand told Andreas Poke: «It's like he's downplaying Cristiano a lot,» before recalling a moment at Highbury when Henry slapped Ronaldo on the back of his head and Ronaldo pushed him off. «Cristiano then scored the winner and Henry's taking the kick-off with the goalscorer in the background. There seems like there's a little bit of a subplot story that maybe makes it with Thierry and it's probably still in his mind in moments like that.»

Henry has a lot of respect for Ronaldo, who has won the Balon d'Or five times. But the Frenchman also talked about how this might have changed what people think about the original Ronaldo, Ronaldo Nazario.

When Henry was asked if he ever wanted another player's shirt, he told CBS Sports: «I did, Ronaldo, R9. The real one. Growing up, how many Ronaldos did you know when you were growing up? In the game, people would say he's the real one. Ronaldo is R9, Cristiano is Cristiano Ronaldo.»

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