United must end relationship with Ronaldo, insists Neville
LONDON – Cristiano Ronaldo’s fractious second spell at Manchester United “has to end” as soon as possible, according to the club’s former defender Gary Neville.
The Portuguese forward, who recently scored his 700th career club goal, has been largely consigned to the bench under new manager Erik ten Hag this season.
He was left out of the squad for Saturday’s 1-1 draw at Chelsea in the Premier League after his petulant reaction to being an unused substitute in midweek against Tottenham Hotspur.
With United showing encouraging signs of progress under ten Hag, Neville believes the Ronaldo situation must be resolved.
“Cristiano is going to have to go somewhere else and play every week because he can’t accept being on the bench,” Neville told Sky Sports.
“That’s fine, but end it this week or create a truce to get to the World Cup and then end it. It has to end.”
Ronaldo walked down the tunnel minutes before the end of United’s 2-0 win over Tottenham and left the ground, conduct Neville claims was unacceptable.
“That’s the second time he has left Old Trafford and got in his car before his team have got back into the changing room,” Neville said.
“I have to say, as someone in the dressing room, it’s something that’s unacceptable. When you look at whether Cristiano should be selected, United are better without him – and Erik ten Hag knows that.
“The only thing that Cristiano and the club can do is get together in the next week and end the relationship.”
However, his former captain at United, Roy Keane, disagreed. He said on Sky Sports: “You (Neville) keep talking about United being better without Ronaldo, let’s look at the start of the season when he didn’t play or against City.
“Would you hang your hat on (Anthony) Martial or even (Marcus) Rashford or Ronaldo? I think the guy cares. This game’s full of bluffers – he’s not one of them.
“He loves the club, he needs to play, he wants to play. Of course, he’s not the player he was 10 years ago but he was still their leading scorer last season. He went to a bad Man United, really bad, and was still their leading scorer.”
Another former United defender, Jaap Stam, said he understood Ronaldo’s frustration but said the 37-year-old is in danger of undermining his legacy.
“It’s not fair to him to be remembered for this situation. He’s been world class, I still think he is world class, and you don’t want to go into the history books walking off the pitch because you’re not happy not playing,” Stam said.
Meanwhile, United’s France defender Raphael Varane is less seriously injured than feared and still hopes to make the World Cup, a source close to the player told AFP on Sunday.
Varane, 29, left the pitch in tears with a leg injury during United’s draw against Chelsea after falling awkwardly in a challenge with Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang.
There were fears the injury could rule him out of the World Cup, which kicks off in Qatar on Nov 20, but the source said a scan on Sunday had been “relatively positive”.
It showed Varane has a small hamstring tear but it is “less serious than feared” and he can “still have hope” of going to Qatar, the source said.
Varane, who has suffered several long-term injury absences during his career, is expected to be out for between three and four weeks, according to reports in France.
In his absence, defensive midfielder Casemiro could become even more vital for fifth-placed United. The Brazilian international scored in added time to cancel out Jorginho’s penalty for fourth-placed Chelsea.
“He’s growing from game to game and now he made the equaliser. And that gives the team and him more confidence,” ten Hag said. “We need headers, and it was a great finish.
“But he’s coming in the team and you see how important he is. I think he was massive today in his performance. He’s now matching the Premier League intensity and from game to game he’ll be better. I’m confident of that.” - REUTERS, AFP
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