Rooney: Ten Hag should drop Ronaldo and Rashford at Man Utd

FT Desk

Updated: 21 Aug 2022 21:28 BST
3 min read

Cristiano Ronaldo in action for Man Utd. — © ProShots

Wayne Rooney and Cristiano Ronaldo may be former Manchester United teammates, but that doesn't mean the former thinks the latter should start against Liverpool on Monday.

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United welcome Liverpool to Old Trafford in what is a clash of two English footballing titans, although both have endured abject starts to their seasons.

United have lost 2-1 to Brighton and 4-0 to Brentford in their opening two Premier League games, while Liverpool have drawn 2-2 with Fulham and 1-1 with Crystal Palace.

"The entire Ten Hag era is being overshadowed by Cristiano Ronaldo"@jacobsben on Cristiano Ronaldo's early exit from Old Trafford 👋 pic.twitter.com/02P3EOCYGW
— Football Transfers (@Transfersdotcom) August 1, 2022

Both sides need to kick-start their seasons on Monday, but Rooney feels United would have more luck without fielding last season's talisman, Ronaldo.

"I wouldn't play Cristiano Ronaldo, and I wouldn't play Marcus Rashford," he wrote in his column for the Times.

"If I was in Ten Hag's position my main concern would be getting energy on the pitch, and United's failure to recruit a number nine means they relied on Ronaldo against Brentford, even though he hadn't trained a lot with the team.

'Ronaldo needs time'

"He looked like he needs time to get match fit. Ten Hag needs energy from his side and that may mean dropping Ronaldo."

Rooney's DC United are currently bottom of the MLS Easter Conference after a difficult 2022. He replaced Hernan Losada as head coach in July and has overseen a record of one win, one draw and four losses from his first six games.

Rooney and Ronaldo have a chequered past. They won seven major honours in five years together in Man Utd's first team between 2004 and 2009, but Ronaldo helped Rooney get sent off for England against Portugal at the 2006 World Cup.

Rooney had stamped on Ricardo Carvalho, but Ronaldo got up in the referee's face before winking at the Portugal touchline once the red card was shown.

Rooney later patched things up with Ronaldo before they went on to win that season's Premier League.