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Sports journalist Simone Stone has remarked that Cristiano Ronaldo was at the core of a "disagreement over captaincy" which left the Manchester United camp divided last season. He further claimed that this incident made club captain Harry Maguire "unhappy".
The Red Devils endured a sub-par 2021-22 campaign. They went trophyless for yet another season (five in a row) and also finished outside the top four in the Premier League standings.
Cristiano Ronaldo was the single shining light in United's otherwise poor campaign. He scored 18 goals in the league (third-highest) and finish with 24 strikes overall for the Red Devils last season. On the other end, United's captain Harry Maguire came under serious fire for repeated poor displays over the course of the season.
Besides the on-field issues, United reportedly also had a big dressing room bust-up over the club captaincy issue. Ronaldo was reportedly at the core of this, which made Maguire unhappy.
Writing in his column for BBC, Stone disclosed:
"Last season could hardly have ended any worse for United as they finished sixth and their trophy-less run extended to a fifth season. The squad was split after a disagreement over captaincy, with Cristiano Ronaldo at its core, which left Harry Maguire unhappy."
Cristiano Ronaldo is in line to be United's next captain
Having played for United before, Ronaldo is now arguably a part of the weakest Red Devil team he has ever lined-up with. However, at 37, he not only has the skill but also the leadership quality to improve things for United.
New manager Erik ten Hag might elect a new captain going into pre-season next month. Ronaldo does present the offer of a great captaincy choice for the Dutch bos. Not only is he the senior-most player, but is also arguably the best of the lot given his excellent outing last season.
Moreover, Ronaldo has the know-how of delivering upon expectations and therefore the understanding of how to successfully shoulder responsibility.
