FURIOUS Piers Morgan has slammed Wayne Rooney after the Manchester United legend called on Erik ten Hag to drop Cristiano Ronaldo against Liverpool.
The Red Devils have had a nightmare stair to their Premier League campaign.
They recorded a 2-1 home loss to Brighton and then followed it up with an embarrassing 4-0 defeat to Brentford.
All of this has happened with Ronaldo’s future at Old Trafford still unclear.
The legendary 37-year-old asked to leave United earlier this summer, following the club finishing sixth – placing them in the Europa League.
Ten Hag is now open to letting Ronaldo leave this summer despite the strong stance he would be honouring his contract – which runs out next summer.
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And ahead of United’s clash with rivals Liverpool on Monday, United legend Rooney has called on Ten Hag to drop his former team-mate.
Rooney said in his Times column: “I wouldn’t play Cristiano Ronaldo, and I wouldn’t play Marcus Rashford.
“If I was in Ten Hag’s position my main concern would be getting energy on the pitch, and United’s failure to recruit a No9 means they relied on Ronaldo against Brentford, even though he hadn’t trained a lot with the team. He looked like he needs time to get match fit.
“He has also let it be known that he wants to leave the club.
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“I don’t know his reasons but, as I wrote in my last column, I’d let him — he’s a great player and will always score goals but the task for Ten Hag is to produce a team that can compete for the title in three or four years’ time. That means rebuilding with younger players.”
Rooney’s view has left Piers raging.
He tweeted: “Rooney has a managerial win record of 28% and his DC United team lost 6-0 yesterday.
“So I suggest he pipes down with the management advice and endless jealous b***hing about @cristiano whose talent, success & fitness levels all dwarf Rooney’s.”
Whether a strong finish to the transfer window convinces Ronaldo to stay is yet to be seen.
The Red Devils are closing in on Ronaldo’s former Real Madrid team-mate Casemiro.
The Brazil star, 30, is in England and is completing a medical ahead of a £70million transfer worth £350,000-a-week.
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United are also pushing to sign Ajax ace Antony, who has a strong bond with Ten Hag.
However, it could take a bid worth nearly £85m to sign the tricky winger.
Source: Soccer - thesun.co.uk
