"He’s not the future" - Craig Burley says Erik ten Hag must let go of Cristiano Ronaldo when he becomes Manchester United boss

Former Chelsea star Craig Burley has told Erik ten Hag to sell Manchester United superstar Cristiano Ronaldo when he takes over the managerial role at Old Trafford.

Burnley believes that Cristiano Ronaldo is not the future for United and the new manager must rebuild the club around a new set of young players.

According to Sky Sports, the 52-year-old Dutchman is tipped to leave Ajax and join Manchester United as their first full-time manager since the sacking of Ole Gunner Solskjaer.

Cristiano Ronaldo made his dream comeback to Old Trafford after the first few games of the ongoing season. The 37-year-old Portuguese superstar was expected to lead the club towards a successful season and end their trophy drought. However, the opposite has happened.

The Red Devils crashed out of most of the tournaments this season, one after another, and are struggling to finish in top-four of the Premier League.

Football pundits and a section of United fans are demanding the departure of Ronaldo and the building of a new team at Old Trafford around new players.

Cristiano Ronaldo's return to United has been anti-climactic

Adding on to such views, Craig Burley on ESPN has told Erik ten Hag to let go of the club legend and build a squad for the future. He said:

''He’s not the future. He’s been an absolute terrific player, the stats will back it up. He’s got goal again this season. This team is so far off the pace there’s so much deadwood there in general and I’m not suggesting he’s part of that.''

The former Chelsea star then added:

''A new manager will have to come in and almost start afresh. It’s mother nature, he’s not the future and they need to build for the future fast. I wouldn’t be surprised because if he’s potentially not in the first team plans and if you have to start leaving him out, the reaction won’t be great.''

The 37-year-old five-time Ballon d'Or winner has scored 18 goals in 34 matches across different competitions since his return to Old Trafford.

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Manchester United to bring seven legends to India

Seven Manchester United Legends will visit India as part of the United We Play finale from April 23, 2022.

Players who are part of India's visit include former United stars Peter Schmeichel, Nemanja Vidic, Mikael Silvestre, Louis Saha, Quinton Fortune, Wes Brown, and Ronny Johnsen. This is the second such visit planned by the club under the said event.

The United We Play is a campaign started by Manchester United to support young footballers from many different nations, including India. The pan-India event provides a platform for young footballers to showcase their skills.