Sky Sports duo Gary Neville and Jamie Carragher have given their thoughts on Christiano Ronaldo’s situation at Manchester United and what they believe new manager Erik ten Hag is thinking.
Speaking on ‘The Overlap’, Gary Neville‘s Youtube channel, ex Liverpool defender Carragher said he believes that Ten Hag is hoping that Ronaldo leaves the club this summer.
‘And I think if you asked Ten Hag, I don’t think he wants him. And I’m not quite sure the dressing room at Manchester United would want Cristiano Ronaldo right now’ stated Carragher, before making a joke suggesting Ronaldo currently believes his United team mates are ‘not very good’!
Ex United star Gary Neville also didn’t hold back in giving his thoughts on the current situation surrounding the legendary Portuguese goalscorer.
He said: ‘Let me be really clear, Ronaldo’s achievements in football go beyond anything that anybody could ever wish for and imagine…
‘But it’s unpalatable for me to watch, as an ex-Manchester United captain, ex Manchester United senior player, and thinking that at this moment in time the star player in the dressing room is playing up.’
He carried on to compare the situation to that of Paul Pogba before he left United for the second time.
‘It happened at times over the last few years where you had Paul Pogba’s agent – not necessarily Pogba all the time but his agent – always playing up with the club. You can’t have your star player running the shop, you cannot have it.’
‘I know Manchester United fans want him to stay’ he carried on to say, ‘but if Ronaldo wants to leave, Manchester United – in my mind – should facilitate that’.
Ten Hag and United have some serious thinking to do if a suitable offer does come in for Ronaldo as to whether it is worth risking the morale of the dressing room that the new manager is desperately trying to rebuild by keeping the current number seven.
With United seemingly in talks over a possible transfer of another striker in Benjamin Sesko, it could well be that Ten Hag is covering all eventualities.
However, Ronaldo leaving would require United to find someone who can step in and replace the 24 goals he scored last season, which given the current state of the frontline is a big ask.
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