In a recent interview with Football Insider, Gabby Agbonlahor tipped Manchester United superstar Cristiano Ronaldo to leave in January. Agbonlahor said,
“Ronaldo must be very angry at the moment at the fact he’s not starting games.
“Ronaldo wants to start games, he wants to score goals and wants to play in the Champions League. Everything that he wants, he’s not getting.
“It might come to the stage where in January and looks at the situation and thinks ‘You know what, maybe my time at the highest level is over’.
“It happens to everyone. Age catches up with everyone and you can’t defy age.
“He’s coming to the stage where he looks at it and thinks ‘Maybe I do go to America or Saudi Arabia or China’. Maybe it’s the time when Ronaldo looks at those options.
“Unless there are big injuries, he’s not going to start a Premier League game for Man United for a while.”
Ronaldo’s Difficult Campaign At Manchester So Far
Ronaldo is having a tough season at Old Trafford as he often found himself on Erik ten Hag’s bench. He has fallen behind Marcus Rashford in Man United’s pecking order which would be a difficult pill to swallow, considering he scored 18 goals in the Premier League last season.
Despite making most of his appearances as a substitute this season, Ronaldo has done well to average 2.0 shots and 0.8 key passes per game in the English top tier. He has even linked up play relatively well with others around him after making 76.4% of his attempted passes in league football (stats via whoscored).
Should Manchester United Boss Erik ten Hag Let Ronaldo Go This Summer?
Ronaldo can still generate a yard of space to get a few strikes in on-target. He can be a deadly finisher in front of the opponent’s goal when he is playing regularly and with confidence on the field.
The Portugal international can also create some decent openings for others around him. However, father time is catching up with his game. Furthermore, he doesn’t have the pace to press the opposition and track back defensively when needed.
Hence, it is no surprise that Man United boss Erik ten Hag has decided to drop him to his bench. However, a footballer of Ronaldo’s status and ego has every reason to be frustrated with his current situation at Old Trafford.
Thus, it makes sense for the Red Devils to let him go this January and use the money generated from his potential departure to strengthen other areas of their squad.
