The summer transfer window is racing towards the September 1 deadline, and the Cristiano Ronaldo transfer saga will conclude. Meanwhile, we look at what former Manchester United players and football pundits have said about the situation surrounding the Portugal talisman.
Legendary striker Cristiano Ronaldo's uncertain future has generated a lot of discussion at Manchester United. With two days left for the summer transfer window to close, the question that is frequently asked is: What should Erik ten Hag do with the 37-year-old Portuguese talisman? The five-time Ballon d'Or winner returned to United last year after 12 years and scored 24 goals across competitions. However, the icon wants to leave Old Trafford for a shot at Champions League glory this season.
Here's a look at what former United stars and football pundits had to say about the predicament:
Former Manchester United teammate Wayne Rooney said, "I think United should let Cristiano Ronaldo go.
"It’s not that Ronaldo can’t play in a Ten Hag team. He can play in any team. Ronny will always score you goals. But my personal view is that United aren’t ready to challenge for the title now, so the aim has to be to build a team that can win the league in the next three to four years, and you have to plan for that. If the reports are true that Cristiano wants to leave the club, then United should allow him to go and get a No.9 in who is going to be there for the next three or four years and really help them build a team that can be successful. Ten Hag has to be given time to do it." Rooney wrote in The Times.
Former Manchester United centre-back and football pundit Rio Ferdinand said, "People are saying you’ve got to let Ronaldo go. Well, get someone in who can score 25 goals first. Darwin Nunez has gone, Erling Haaland has gone and Robert Lewandowski has gone. They were the three players that you were thinking, ‘These are the only ones that you were going to go for that will outright come into the Manchester United team immediately.’ They’re gone. So Manchester United can’t let Ronaldo go, they can’t. Even if he’s begging to go, they just can’t let him go. It’s not the right thing to do, I don’t think."
Former Manchester United right-back and English football pundit, Gary Neville, stated on The Overlap, "Ronaldo’s achievements in football have gone beyond anything that anybody could have wished for and imagined. He will go down as one of the top players of all time and always will be."
"I know Manchester United fans want Ronaldo to stay. But if Ronaldo wants to leave, Manchester United – in my mind – should facilitate that," Neville added.
Legendary Manchester United midfielder and football pundit, Paul Scholes, told BT Sport after the Red Devils 1-0 win over Southampton, "I thought looking at the game today they needed Cristiano he could have been that focal point in the team. They really lacked a focal point centrally and Cristiano is more of focal point these days. You get to 37 years of age you’re not going to go sprinting away from people, he is very good at holding the ball up and getting on the end of crosses, whereas [Anthony] Martial is totally different. There will be times when different players are needed. I hope Cristiano doesn’t go but if he does I think they’re going to need a centre forward."
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Iconic Manchester United midfielder and football pundit, Roy Keane, told Sky Sports, "You can’t let Ronaldo go out the door and think Martial is going to be the answer, Martial isn’t the answer. He’s had a decent pre-season? Big deal. They haven’t got enough options at this moment in time. That might change in the next few weeks but from a footballing point of view, you just have to hold on to Ronaldo. You can’t let him go when you haven’t got the back-up behind it."
“Cristiano Ronaldo has to leave Man United,” former Manchester United legend Paul Ince told Boyles Sports after the 2-1 win over Liverpool.
"If he was in the Man United dressing room when I was playing with the likes of Roy Keane and Steve Bruce, we wouldn’t be putting up with him and he wouldn’t be getting away with anything. Leaving Ronaldo out of the starting 11 yesterday was so important because it shows people that there can be life without Ronaldo. He’s been a distraction for everyone at Man United. He hasn’t had the desired effect that everyone thought he would and you wouldn’t see Lionel Messi acting the way he has at times," Ince added.
Legendary Manchester United left-back, Patrice Evra, told Betfair, "The Cristiano Ronaldo saga is another issue. Is he staying? Is he leaving? It’s created a lot of confusion with fans. He’s still here, the transfer window isn’t closed but I think, personally knowing Cristiano, if he doesn’t play he would like to leave. I think this would be the best for him and for United."
Former Liverpool legend and football pundit, Jamie Carragher, told The Overlap in May, "Cristiano Ronaldo is one of the greatest players of all time, and I’m seen as criticising him – Ronaldo is a million times better than I could ever be, I couldn’t lace his boots, obviously, but I’m not saying that to be disrespectful to him, he’s amazing."
"But Ronaldo has never played in a team this bad, he’s played in some of the best teams and has the attitude of wanting to be the main man, trying to get the goals, driving people on, and when you’re in a great team, that’s something I’m seeing as a positive. When you’re not playing in a great team it can be something that is seen as a negative, and I think it has been a negative this season," Carragher added.
Former Arsenal striker, Alan Smith, told 888 Casino, "If Ronaldo wants to go then let him go. He’s someone who obviously wants to play Champions League football. He has come in at United and done the job [that], for him, he was paid to do, which is to score goals."
England football pundit, Paul Merson, has said, "If you keep Ronaldo for another year, that’s another year without much of a plan. If he does well next year and Manchester United come third, it’s a waste – because he’ll leave after that. Manchester United need a plan for the future, and they need to start addressing it sooner rather than later."
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