‘Ronaldo causes as many problems as he solves at Man Utd’
Robin Bairner
- 17 Sept 2021 10:25 BST
- 3 min read
Cristiano Ronaldo will pose Manchester United manager Ole Gunnar Solskjaer as ‘many problems as he solves’, according to former Liverpool defender Jamie Carragher.
Ronaldo returned to Old Trafford after 12 years away this summer, re-signing with Man Utd from Juventus, where his wage bill had proven too great for the Serie A club to feasibly cope with.
He has made a quick start to life back in the Premier League, scoring two against Newcastle on debut then netting in a 2-1 defeat to Young Boys.
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Nevertheless, Solskjaer’s decision to keep Ronaldo on when Man Utd were reduced to 10 men has been widely criticised and cited as a reason that the Red Devils took nothing from the match.
Ronaldo signing criticism
Carragher, meanwhile, believes that Man Utd now have too many players to be effective.
“United’s Champions League defeat on Tuesday struck me as a classic example of a coach in a position where he could overthink his selection so ended up making changes in an attempt to keep everyone happy. This might become a recurring problem and is partially a knock-on effect from the Ronaldo deal,” Carragher argued in the Telegraph.
If we are brutally honest about it, Manchester United only moved for Ronaldo once they heard Manchester City were going to buy him
- Jamie CarragherHe believes, too, that the Portuguese could have too great an influence on the squad, adding: “Even when Ronaldo is taken off, it is like he is involved in the game. His performance and body language is a media obsession. He was caught on camera remonstrating with officials and team-mates while on the touchline in Switzerland, reminiscent of the Euro 2016 final with Portugal. Who tells Ronaldo to take a back seat?”
Meanwhile, Carragher questions whether Man Utd should even have moved for him in the first place.
“If we are brutally honest about it, Manchester United only moved for Ronaldo once they heard Manchester City were going to buy him,” he pointed out. “If they had gone into the summer transfer window prioritising a centre-forward, they would have signed one before paying £72.9 million for Jadon Sancho.”
Ronaldo is expected to be back in action on Sunday, when Man Utd travel to West Ham.
