Gary Neville has surprisingly advised Manchester United to offload Cristiano Ronaldo before the end of this summer’s transfer window.
Ronaldo, 37, rejoined the Red Devils 12 months ago after a shocking turn of events saw him leave Juventus and return to Old Trafford 13 years after departing.
Although the five-time Ballon d’Or kicked off his second United coming with a brace against Newcastle United, things have since turned sour, and following the team’s failure to qualify for next season’s Champions League, the 37-year-old is rumoured to want out.
Speaking about how the 20-time league winners should handle the situation, Neville has urged his former club to part ways with Ronaldo for the second time in their history while also drawing comparisons to Paul Pogba’s six years with the club.
“Let’s be clear, Ronaldo’s achievements in football go beyond,” Neville said on the latest episode of Sky Sports’ ‘The Overlap’.
“Let’s be fair, anything anybody could ever wish for or imagine. He’ll go down in the top players of all time and always will be, and what happens this summer at Man United will be forgotten about in 20 years.
“But it’s unpalatable for me to watch the next Manchester United captain, the next Manchester United senior player, and thinking that in this moment in time the star player in the dressing room is playing up.
“It happened at times over the last few years where you had [Paul] Pogba’s agent, not necessarily Pogba all the time, but his agent always playing up with the club. You can’t have your star player in a club running the shop.
“When Sir Alex Ferguson in the past moved players on it was because players need to be moved on. I know Manchester United fans want Ronaldo to stay but if Ronaldo wants to leave, Manchester United, in my mind, should facilitate that.”
(Play clip from 40:58)