Wayne Rooney Feels Manchester United Should Allow Cristiano Ronaldo To Leave

Professional football manager Wayne Rooney suggested Cristiano Ronaldo's total exit from Manchester United and urged Erik ten Hag to work for the bigger picture.

The former football player addressed his thoughts on Ronaldo's transfer saga via The Times column. "I think United should let Cristiano Ronaldo go. It's not that Ronaldo can't play in a Ten Hag team. He can play in any team. Ronny will always score you goals. But my personal view is that United aren't ready to challenge for the title now, so the aim has to be to build a team that can win the league in the next three to four years, and you have to plan for that," he said.

Ronaldo previously confirmed his desire to leave his current squad, Man Utd, due to his dream to participate in the Champions League. Since then, different speculations regarding the future of the five-time Ballon d'Or emerged, with many European teams being linked to his most anticipated transfer. Amid CR7 transfer rumors, he missed United's pre-season games in Thailand and Australia.

The Portuguese international has been an icon of goals throughout United's previous season; he netted 24 times in all competitions. However, the inconsistent performance of the team and its failure to enter the Champions League influenced Ronaldo's exit move.

Rooney also expressed his high hopes for Ten Hag's skills when it comes to establishing game tactics for the team. "I couldn't work out what they were trying to do in terms of game plan, or see any patterns of play," Rooney said referring to the last season. "I think one of the big things you'll see from Ten Hag is him really trying to put his stamp on the playing identity."

Meanwhile, after returning from his long leave due to family matters, Ronaldo was put on the bench during United's game against Brighton on Sunday as Lisandro Martinez and Christian Eriksen both played on the field during Ten Hag's first Premier League game in charge. The club's new signing, Tyrell Malacia, also started on the bench, as well as defender Raphael Varane. Martinez worked with captain Harry Maguire at the back. While Bruno Fernandes, together with Fred and Scott McTominay, in the midfield. Marcus Rashford, Jadon Sancho, and Diogo Dalot were also in Sunday's lineup together with others.