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Former England striker Darren Bent believes Manchester United need to let Cristiano Ronaldo and five other players go in the summer for a rebuild.
The 38-year-old has urged Manchester United to sell six players in the summer if they want their next manager to lead them to success.
Apart from Ronaldo, the likes of Paul Pogba, Scott McTominay, Fred, Edinson Cavani and Anthony Martial should all be offloaded, as per Bent's suggestion.
He believes that the Red Devils should keep the likes of David de Gea and Raphael Varane.
Bent told talkSPORT:
“The ones you keep are [David] De Gea, you keep [Raphael] Varane. You need a new right-back, I think. I don’t think [McTominay] is good enough but he’s one of your own. Building-wise? Nope. I think Fred is a weird one because you have to say he’s been one in the last few weeks who has gone, ‘You know what? I’m up for this’."
"But I guess if you’re trying to start against and build a successful side, he might have to go."
While talking about the attackers, the 38-year-old insists that United should retain Jadon Sancho but sell both Ronaldo and Cavani.
However, he believes that Marcus Rashford should be retained if the new manager fancies him. He stated that Rashford is still young enough to turn things around despite his poor form.
Bent said:
“You keep [Jadon] Sancho. Ronaldo has got to go. Cavani has got to go. [Martial] has got to go. [Marcus] Rashford is the one where, if the new manager fancies him, there’s something there. If he can get that best out of him then you keep him because he’s young."
Bent reckons that Paul Pogba's contract at Old Trafford expires this summer, meaning he is anyway on his way out. He concluded:
“[Pogba] is going to go anyway, he’s on a free at the end of the season. If Manchester United have got any kind of aspirations [he should go]. I love Pogba as a player, I really do, but Manchester United fans are becoming sick of saying, ‘We’re waiting for that consistency’. So he’d have to go.”
Manchester United would have been a lot worse if not for Cristiano Ronaldo
There is no hiding away from the fact that Cristiano Ronaldo is no longer the player he used to be. However, he has been one of the shining lights for the club during such a horrific season.
The Portuguese superstar has 18 goals and three assists in 33 games across all competitions so far, leading the club in goalscoring. If not for some of his match-winning or match-saving goals, they would have struggled a lot more.
The new manager will decide on the players he wants to keep from his squad but the five-time Ballon d'Or winner remains a big asset for the club.
