Jamie Carragher is the latest high-profile figure to talk on the current issues going on at Manchester United.
From what seems to be rather bad news, the Red Devils appear to be a club in crisis, with troublesome reports circulating from within Old Trafford.
There are reports talking about the instability in the Old Trafford dressing room and the players have been targeted by some renowned journalists. Also, Ralf Rangnick and his managerial tactics are not making any difference right now.
That could explain why the team hasn’t lived up to expectations this season, having been eliminated from both domestic cups and slipping points in the league, having drawn three of their past six league games.
To add more fuel to the fire, David McDonnell of the Mirror has reported that a power struggle has erupted between summer signing Cristiano Ronaldo and Harry Maguire for the club’s captaincy role. He claimed there was a breach between the two for the captaincy role, but Harry Maguire has now dismissed such rumours on Twitter earlier today.
And, as the problems at Old Trafford continue to surface, Carragher has provided a strict assessment of the situation, which could help the club in restoring some value at Carrington.
According to the Telegraph, he said:
“United made a mistake re-signing Ronaldo last summer. It will be a bigger one keeping him next season. No single player can ever be bigger than the club. And no one knew that better than Sir Alex Ferguson, who, in 2006, sold one of the Premier League’s most prolific goal scorers, Ruud Van Nistelrooy, because he felt the striker’s personal hunger for goals was inhibiting the progress of younger, emerging team-mates.”
Who reaped the rewards? Ronaldo thrived after Van Nistelrooy’s exit. Just like Van Nistelrooy 16 years ago, Ronaldo’s goal sprees have the capacity to make anyone deemed critical look foolish. It does not alter the fact that the next United manager will face the same issues as Rangnick in trying to keep him happy.”
“Whether United win, lose or Ronaldo scores or goes through a mini goal-drought, it is still too much about the CR7 brand and not enough about the team.”
According to the former Liverpool Legend, Manchester United should learn from Sir Alex Ferguson and release Ronaldo this summer.
Also Read: Ralf Rangnick praises Cristiano Ronaldo for his match-winning goal
While Ronaldo, who scored against Brighton on Tuesday night to end a six-match goal drought, remains the team’s leading scorer this season with 15 goals in all competitions. The Portuguese star, according to the ex-Liverpool centre-back, shouldn’t have been brought back to the club in the first place.
It remains to be seen whether the former Real Madrid player will leave at the end of the current season, but Carragher’s words seem very harsh.
