Appearing as a pundit, Manchester United’s record goalscorer Wayne Rooney suggested that the club should try to move on from Cristiano Ronaldo, who earlier returned to Old Trafford after 11 years. Following that criticism, the sixt-time Ballon d’Or recpieint has hit out at Rooney on Instagram with a sly comment.
Derby County manager Rooney appeared as a pundit for Sky Sports on Monday evening and was scathing in his criticism of Manchester United’s current season following their latest 1-1 draw with Leicester City in the Premier League. That stalemate has left the Red Devils lost in the race for the top four spots, and the prospect of Champions League football still looks bleak for next season.
The former United captain claimed that Ralf Rangnick’s team are already out of the race to secure a top-four position in the league. He also suggested that a few players the Red Devils need to off-load this summer.
Included among those players were Cristiano Ronaldo and Paul Pogba, who Rooney suggested, should leave the club this summer. The Portuguese hasn’t taken the criticism from his former colleague kindly and has hit out at him with a blunt comment on his Instagram post.
Rooney had posted a picture of himself, host Dave Jones and fellow pundit Jamie Carragher from Sky Sports’ Monday Night Football show on Instagram, to which Ronaldo replied: ‘Two jealous.’
When asked on the show ‘Monday Night Football’ whether Ronaldo’s move has worked out for United, Rooney said that he would say no, looking at the future of the club, even though Ronaldo has scored goals in a lot of important games this season.
”I think he’s scored goals, he’s scored important goals in the Champions League early on in the season. He scored the hat-trick against Tottenham.
But I think if you look to the future of the club you would have to go with younger, hungry players to do the best to lift Manchester United over these next two, three years”.
Rooney also explained how Ronaldo isn’t the player he used to be in his 20s. While he agrees that the Portuguese is a major goal threat against any team, Rooney feels that United need a lot more than what Cristiano offers in the rest of the game. According to him, Manchester United need young and hungry players.
”I think they’ve got good young players. I think [Jadon] Sancho will be better next year, I think Marcus [Rashford] will be better next year.
”I think Jesse Lingard should be playing for them because he brings energy, he brings quality. Scott McTominay has done well, so they have got some good young players.
he further added.
Ronaldo and Ronaldo formed one of the strongest attacking pairs in the Premier League during their time together at United between 2004 and 2009. Ronaldo would go on to achieve worldwide fame and even win a Ballon d’Or with the Red Devils before securing a transfer to Real Madrid in 2009.
Cristiano rejoined United in the summer of 2021, but the fateful reunion hasn’t gone to plan. He has been criticized for being a shadow of the player he once was and not putting enough effort on the pitch. The Portuguese’s presence also hinders the development and game-time of several younger players at United. He has contributed a total of 18 goals in 32 appearances for Manchester United across all competitions.
