Ronaldo urged to retire from football before he become a 'normal player'
Martin Macdonald
- 26 Feb 2022 20:17 GMT
- 5 min read
Cristiano Ronaldo has sensationally been told to retire by World Cup winner Frank Leboeuf before he turns into a "normal player".
In the summer of 2021, Ronaldo completed a sensational return to Manchester United 12 years after leaving the Red Devils for Real Madrid.
After it became clear that Ronaldo wanted to leave Juventus, it was actually Manchester City who became favourites for his signature this past summer.
However, when his availability was reported, Man Utd reacted quickly to not only bring the club hero home, but also to keep him out of the clutches of City.
TRENDING
As a collective, Man Utd have been disappointing in the 2021/22 campaign. They were never really involved in the title race and face a major battle to qualify for the Champions League, while they were recently knocked out of the FA Cup on penalties at home against Middlesbrough.
Ronaldo had previously been a shining light in the team with a flurry of goals in the first half of the season.
Overall, he has had a decent return of 15 goals in 30 appearances, but only one of them has come since the turn of the year.
He is currently on a run of just one goal scored in his last 10 games.
Should Ronaldo retire?
Ronaldo is not used to such barren spells in front of goal, and Leboeuf believes the Portuguese superstar should think about hanging up his boots before he regresses even further.
"Do you know what? I think there is a time where you have to think, "what do I do with my life and my career,"' the Frenchman told ESPN.
"And maybe it's time for Cristiano Ronaldo at the end of his career to wonder and have a discussion with himself, and maybe some of his family, to know what he has to do for the rest of his career, if there is a future in his career.
"I don't want to watch Ronaldo and have pity, because he's been on the top for so many years.
"I don't want him to be a normal player. He's been an exceptional player for so long.
"I'd prefer him to give up his career at the top instead of maybe trying and play for two or three more years and not being the player that he used to be."
Ronaldo recently turned 37-years-old and has a contract with United until 2023.
