As Sir Alex Ferguson acknowledged earlier this week, Ronaldo remains the best player in the world "by miles" and is bound to be missed by United this term.

But, after six years' service to the Old Trafford club, Ferdinand does not feel Ronaldo deserves to be criticised for following a boyhood dream.

"I don't think any of the lads are bitter or should be bitter towards Ronny," Ferdinand told the Daily Telegraph.

"He came here as a young lad and gave six years of his career to this club.

"So bearing in mind that careers average out at between 10-12 years, he's given half his career to one club, this club, and I think you have to respect that.

"You can't put a shadow over someone's dream. Since he was a kid, he wanted to play for Real Madrid.

"Playing for Manchester United is the holy grail for some people and it is those people who probably don't understand why he wants to go somewhere else that equals the holy grail."

Ferguson has already brought in Antonio Valencia from Wigan and snapped up Michael Owen on a free transfer in an effort to plug the gap.

Although Valencia will not make his pre-season bow until next week's Audi Cup in Munich, Owen has already made a positive impact on the Red Devils' current Far East tour.

And Ferdinand is confident United have the quality to cope with losing the world player of the year.

"We will be a lot more compact as a team with Cristiano gone, more compact in midfield and harder to break down," he reflected.

"One thing I'm sure of is that Ronaldo going will bring the best out in our players.

"We know he scored a lot of goals in the last two seasons for us, but we have players who are capable of doing that and I'm sure they can go out there, do that job and fill the gap.

"The longevity and time we have had together as a team, learning each other's games and personalities is a big weapon, and one we have to use. We have the mentality of winners.

"Other people are going to have to take responsibility because there are goals that have gone out of our team that need to be made up."