Cristiano Ronaldo ‘annoying Man Utd squad’ with Marcus Rashford and Harry Maguire unhappy | Football | Sport
Cristiano Ronaldo is reportedly ‘annoying’ the Manchester United squad because he wants to ‘lead’ the club. The Portugal international has netted 15 goals across all competitions this term, more than any other player at Old Trafford. Yet his return has coincided with one of the team’s worst seasons since Sir Alex Ferguson’s retirement in 2013.
Ronaldo scored his latest goal for United on Tuesday night, ending a barren spell of six games with the opener in their 2-0 win over Brighton.
It was certainly needed from the Portugal international, whose goal helped his side claim all three points with Bruno Fernandes also on target
However, in recent weeks, there have been murmurings of cliques inside the club’s dressing room.
Reports have suggested Ronaldo is part of a section of the club, alongside the likes of Diogo Dalot, Fred, Alex Telles and Fernandes, who have formed their own mini-group inside the dressing room.
And BILD journalist Christian Falk has now claimed Marcus Rashford and Harry Maguire have been left ’annoyed’ by the 37-year-old’s behaviour.
“True, the English players like Harry Maguire, Marcus Rashford & Co are irritated that Ronaldo wants to lead the dressing room with his own clique,” he said on Twitter.
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United were dumped out of the Carabao Cup by West Ham in December, with the Hammers winning 1-0 at Old Trafford.
Ronaldo was left out of the squad that day, with former boss Ole Gunnar Solskjaer deciding to give him a rest.
Then, recently, United lost to Middlesbrough in the FA Cup.
Ronaldo missed an early penalty and, despite Sancho shining, they exited the competition after a tense penalty shootout – with Anthony Elanga missing the decisive spot-kick.
United are currently back up to fourth in the table.
But whether they can turn their season around properly, with so many matches left to play, remains to be seen.
Ronaldo could even leave United if they fail to qualify for the Champions League, something that seemed unfeasible when they welcomed him back to the club in August.
Paris Saint-Germain have been linked, especially with Kylian Mbappe’s future currently shrouded in uncertainty with his current deal due to expire in the summer.
And Bayern Munich and Jose Mourinho’s Roma have also emerged as potential suitors.
Meanwhile, former Norwich striker Dean Ashton has defended Ronaldo while calling out Rashford, Dalot and Luke Shaw for failing to give him enough service.
“It’s not his fault for a start,” Ashton told talkSPORT. “He’s getting angry because the service is that bad.
“When you buy Ronaldo, you don’t buy the player that he was ten years ago, you buy the player that he is now.
“You watch Juve, he didn’t take three or four players on then smash it in. He didn’t score goals from outside the area.
“His game was inside the area. Great movement, sharp movement, delivery, goal. Sight of the goal, back of the net.
“Manchester United are playing every other way except what’s needed for him and to get the best out of him.
“Why have the best goalscorer in the history of football and not give him the service he needs?
“Rashford, why does he persist on trying to knuckleball every cross? He just knuckleballs it to the first player.
“Why are Dalot and Shaw crossing from really deep, when it gives Ronaldo less opportunity to get on the end of it and beat a defender?
“This is a guy with an unbelievable leap and he’s not scored a Premier League header. What? They’re not giving him the service.”
