Former Manchester United defender Rio Ferdinand is certain why Cristiano Ronaldo will stay at the club and gives reasons why the club needs the player more than ever.
Ronaldo has been subject to intense transfer speculation throughout the ongoing summer window, with multiple reports suggesting that the Portuguese maestro is looking to move away from Old Trafford.
Majority of the speculations state United’s failure to qualify for the UEFA Champions League as one of the biggest reasons why Ronaldo is looking for a transfer.
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However, United have maintained throughout the summer that Ronaldo is not for sale and will stay on for the remainder of his contract.
The legendary striker returned to Carrington last week and also made his first pre-season appearance against Rayo Vallecano on Sunday.
He played 45 minutes before being replaced at half time.
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Ferdinand does not see how Ronaldo could make a move away from Manchester United and that he doesn’t expect the club to change their stern stance on the player.
“The biggest thing for me is, if you’re Man United, where are you going to find 20 goals?” Ferdinand told FootballJOE.
“If you let Cristiano Ronaldo go now, where are the 20 goals coming from? Unless you believe in Martial, Rashford and Sancho to fill that void.”
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“If he [Ten Hag] thinks that, and he feels comfortable doing that, Cristiano probably goes to another team.”
“The fact that Cristiano’s not been allowed to go anywhere says to me they want him back in the building, because they know he’s going to get them 20 goals this season.”
Ferdinand was then asked whether Ronaldo should expect more of a secondary role at United. He replied, “I think age and your body tells you that, but when you look at someone like Cristiano, he’s a very, very unique case.”
“Physically, we’ve never seen anyone like him, and I think you’ve got to look at his physicality and his profile in that sense and go ‘can he play a lot of games?”
Ferdinand concluded, “Last season, he showed people he can still play the games and still score the goals at the top level. Who in this team scores more goals than him?”
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“When a chance drops to this team, you put him in today without training, if you want a chance to drop to anyone in this squad now, who do you want it to drop to? It’ll be him.”
“That tells you he’s still going to be a massive part of what you’re doing at the football club, and the fact they haven’t allowed him to go anywhere tells me that.”
Topics: Cristiano Ronaldo, Manchester United, Manchester United Transfer News & Rumours, Rio Ferdinand, Champions League
Mudeet Arora