Cristiano Ronaldo must “stand up now and speak” and not wait to lift the lid on his situation at Manchester United, says Gary Neville.
The Red Devils’ failure to secure a Champions League berth last season led to reports Ronaldo told the club he wanted to leave just under a year after returning to Old Trafford from Juventus.
A shambolic start to life under Erik ten Hag, which saw an opening home defeat to Brighton and Hove Albion followed by a 4-0 defeat at Brentford, has only exacerbated the situation.
However, despite being linked with a host of Europe’s biggest clubs, there is a lack of viable options for Ronaldo, with Chelsea and Bayern Munich said to have rejected the chance to sign him.
While a potential switch to Atletico would be wildly unpopular with the club’s fanbase.
Reports are suggesting after the humiliating loss to the Bees.
That United considered terminating the Portugal great’s contract if his attitude did not improve.
Neville also expressed his fear letting Ronaldo go could see United slump to a bottom-half finish.
Gary Neville said on Sky Sports’ Monday Night Football:
“As I sit here now, I think there’s a massive decision on Cristiano Ronaldo.
“I think they’re damned if they do and damned if they don’t.
“Before these two results, I said the best thing to do is facilitate a move for Cristiano and the club.
“because he’s not happy, and the club are not happy with him.
“The problem is that if they lose him, there’s nothing left in goal scoring.
“I genuinely think that if they don’t bring players in, in these next couple of weeks, or if they bring poor players in, and he leaves, they could finish in the bottom half of the table.
I think it’s a bottom half of the table team.
“That’s a massive statement and could look stupid at the end of the season.
“They’re demoralised and shot to pieces. I think it’s really bad in there.
“Ten Hag in pre-season had got them to a confident level.
“But they’ve gone back to default, and the old things have come back.”
United host fierce rivals Liverpool, on Monday as they aim to inject life quickly into their season.
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