Paul Merson is befuddled why Manchester United re-signed five-time Ballon d’Or winner Cristiano Ronaldo from Juventus in this summer’s transfer window.
Manchester United players are “petrified” of Cristiano Ronaldo and Ole Gunnar Solskjaer probably doesn’t even want him. That’s the opinion of Paul Merson, who says he can’t understand why Man United re-signed the five-time Ballon d’Or winner in this summer’s transfer window.
Ronaldo started the season in tantalizing form for Man United but has gone off the boil in recent matches as the Red Devils have dropped points against Aston Villa, Everton and Leicester City.
Solskjaer is under immense pressure to make things work after he was extravagantly backed in the transfer window.
And Merson says he needs to build his team around Ronaldo if he is going to have any success this season.
“Cristiano Ronaldo doesn’t do anything up front, he just stands still because he cannot go past people anymore. United’s forward players are petrified, they just give Ronaldo the ball in hope more than expectation,” Merson told Sky Sports.
“To get the best out of Ronaldo he’s got to be given a completely free role, in the hole and then have the likes of Marcus Rashford or Mason Greenwood opening up the game ahead of him to give him the space he needs on the ball.
But if you play him up front you have to accept that he is not going to run beyond.
“I wouldn’t blame Ronaldo, it’s the manager’s responsibility to adopt a system that gets him into the game. Ronaldo is the best in the business over five yards, he makes great runs, he’s just not getting the service.
“Jadon Sancho doesn’t cross the ball, Greenwood wants to come inside and shoot, Bruno Fernandes and Paul Pogba want to spray it around in the middle, and Ronaldo just isn’t getting the ball in the areas where he can hurt teams.”
Gary Neville recently suggested that Solskjaer would probably rather have his United team from last season instead of the current crop featuring Ronaldo, following the Foxes defeat.
And Merson appears to agree with the former right-back, suggesting he’s not sure Solskjaer even wanted to re-sign Ronaldo.
“Manchester United have brought all these players in and you’re left scratching your head as to where Solskjaer fits them all in,” the former Arsenal midfielder added.
“To this day I still don’t get the Ronaldo signing. Hand on heart, would Manchester United have gone and got him if Manchester City weren’t linked? Was Ronaldo even going to City, or was he just playing them to get back to United?
“I’m not 100 per cent sure Solskjaer wanted Ronaldo there, I may be wrong, but his decision to leave him out against Everton told me all I needed to know.
“I think he saw it as a good opportunity to beat a team without Ronaldo and then carry on from there, but they didn’t, and everybody went mad. But would they have beaten Everton with Ronaldo in the team?”