Cristiano Ronaldo and Lionel Messi would not put themselves in the position that Wayne Rooney is in, according to former Manchester United and England defender Rio Ferdinand.
England captain Rooney has been criticised for an apparent late-night drinking session, while on international duty, after attending a wedding party at the Three Lions' team hotel.
The Manchester United striker went on to play for his club against Arsenal on Saturday, coming on as a substitute in a 1-1 draw, and later said that the way he has been treated is "disgraceful."
Ferdinand told BT Sport: "If you look at the elite players like Ronaldo, Messi, Neymar and [Gareth] Bale ... the difference with those players, and Wayne and the mistake that he made, is publicly doing it.
"You wouldn't see those players out until five in the morning absolutely off their head. That's because either they're protecting themselves and doing it a different way or they're completely football first and that governs their life."
United manager Jose Mourinho was sympathetic towards Rooney when discussing the matter at his news conference on Friday, saying that the player could move on from the incident as he is back on club duty.