"Upset the dynamic in the dressing room" - Gary Neville names 3 Manchester United stars who have suffered since Cristiano Ronaldo's arrival
Gary Neville feels three Manchester United stars have been impacted negatively since the signing of Cristiano Ronaldo last summer.
The Portuguese captain returned to his former hunting ground in August 2021, expecting that he will lead United to the Premier League title in the recently concluded season.
However, it was an abysmal season for the Red Devils, as they finished sixth in the league table.
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Ronaldo scored 24 goals for the club but the performance levels of the rest of the team dropped significantly. The squad, which finished second in the 2020-21 season, dropped four places despite adding the likes of Jadon Sancho, Raphael Varane and Ronaldo.
Mentioning three players who have been negatively impacted by Ronaldo's arrival, Neville said on Overlap:
"I think at the start of the season, he created a problem straightaway with (Edinson) Cavani. [He was] being pleaded to stay and lead the attack for the year, but when they signed Ronaldo, Cavani was shot then and finished."
He also spoke about how Bruno Fernandes idolizes Ronaldo.
"It upset the dynamic in the dressing room for Bruno (Fernandes). I think Bruno looks up to him like a godfather in Portugal so it made him feel a bit inferior to what he was before."
Finally addressing Harry Maguire, Neville said:
"It made Maguire a little bit inferior as captain just naturally - nothing from Ronaldo's doing this. Just his presence itself on the pitch means everyone's looking to Cristiano with Harry trying to establish himself as Manchester United captain."
Neville feels there is something fundamentally wrong at Manchester United
Speaking about the situation and the performance level of the players at Manchester United, Neville also said:
"Harry Maguire has gone from someone who I think was growing on the pitch last season during Covid to someone who is now looks like he is shot to pieces when he pulls on a red shirt. Bruno looks like half the player. The rest of them, the young players, look completely like you've lost faith in them, let's get rid of them."
He further noted:
"That's when something's gone fundamentally wrong in the club, in the changing room, with the leadership. I don't think you can dissolve anyone of blame, everybody has to take blame for that."
Manchester United have appointed Erik ten Hag as the new permanent manager, who will have a massive rebuild on his hands.
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The new First-Team Manager of Manchester United: Erik ten Hag.
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