“It’s like United are a small club.”
Jamie Carragher criticised Manchester United for re-signing Cristiano Ronaldo following their 3-0 win against Brentford at Old Trafford, on Monday night.
The former Liverpool defender does not agree with “one of the biggest clubs in the world” signing a 37-year-old, no matter his footballing legacy.
Jamie Carragher gives his verdict on Cristiano Ronaldo’s future.
Carragher, regardless of Ronaldo’s goalscoring form, thinks Man United shouldn’t have signed Ronaldo due to his age.
However, the Red Devils have a huge rebuild on their hands this summer. Therefore, replacing Ronaldo could be down their list of objectives as the striker has 24 goals this season.
Ronaldo could potentially be a thorn in the side of new manager Erik ten Hag, according to Carragher, as anytime the Portuguese striker was dropped this season “it’s a massive story.”
“My problem has always been with Man United for buying Cristiano Ronaldo. One of the biggest clubs in the world should not be buying a 37-year-old,” Carragher said on Monday Night Football.
“I’ve always been of the opinion that they should move him on, but right now, there are so many problems, ‘I need to get a midfielder, I need to get a centre-back.’ We’ve seen this season that when Ronaldo doesn’t play or gets brought off, it’s a massive story.
“If you bring in strikers, are they to play or back up Ronaldo? If you’re the new manager, you might think you don’t need that on your plate.”
Carragher compares Ronaldo’s move with Wayne Rooney.
Carragher made the comparison with Liverpool bringing Luis Suarez back to the club. He then went on to suggest United should be signing Erling Haaland, as he would suit a long-term project.
The former England defender said Ronaldo’s return “was just to lift the fans.” Carragher compared the transfer with Wayne Rooney returning to Everton.
“They’ve got other problems. Would Liverpool ring back Luis Suarez? I don’t think so. United should be getting Erling Haaland. Man City are getting him,” Carragher added.
“It’s like United are a small club. It’s like when Rooney went back to Everton. It was just to lift the fans.”
It was interesting to note that Roy Keane sat opposite Carragher for the entire Ronaldo chat and did not interrupt once. He did argue at the end, though, that Ronaldo had scored over 20 goals and United had much bigger issues to address.
Over the weekend, Ronaldo was linked with a return to Real Madrid, where he scored 450 goals over nine seasons at the club.
Related links:
- Cristiano Ronaldo sends message at full-time about his Man United future.
- Jamie Carragher compares Erik ten Hag’s job at Man United to Jurgen Klopp’s at Liverpool.
- Roy Keane makes three surprise picks in Man United’s greatest Premier League team.
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