Cristiano Ronaldo’s Man Utd allies as Marcus Rashford and Harry Maguire ‘grow annoyed’

Man United in 2021: Ronaldo's return, Ole out and Rangnick revolution

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Cristiano Ronaldo is reportedly causing friction at Manchester United, with the likes of Harry Maguire and Marcus Rashford frustrated by the forward wanting to ‘lead’ the club. The Portugal international has bagged 15 goals across all competitions since returning from Juventus. Yet, despite that, the club have endured a difficult campaign.

Ronaldo recently ended a six-game goal drought by notching in United’s 2—0 win over Brighton on Tuesday night.

The Portugal international wound back the years with a sensational strike at Old Trafford, with Bruno Fernandes then striking to make the points safe.

United, while not reliant on Ronaldo like they were under Sir Alex Ferguson, have still been fortunate for his presence this term.

Had it not been for his goals in the Champions League, they’d likely be out of that competition by this stage.

Yet Bild reporter Christian Falk has claimed Rashford and Maguire are among United’s English-speaking players who are unhappy with Ronaldo wanting to ‘lead’ the club.

It’s stated that there are cliques inside the dressing room at the moment in time.

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So who are the players siding with Ronaldo at present?

Well, Express Sport reported in January that Ralf Rangnick was battling to hold the squad together due to the rising tensions between clearly defined groups.

Maguire, along with Edinson Cavani and Mason Greenwood, were finding the undroppable presence of the 37-year-old a challenge at that time.

There was a frustration at the influence that Ronaldo holds an influence over some international team-mates and other Portuguese-speaking players.

It was then widely reported elsewhere that Fernandes, Alex Telles, Diogo Dalot and Fred were some of the players who were close to Ronaldo.

So they appear to be in his corner as other members of the dressing room turn on the veteran.

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Ronaldo will need to keep scoring if he’s to stop the dissent rising at Old Trafford and will hope his goal against Brighton will trigger a goal glut.

The way he took the goal was impressive, reminiscent of what he frequently did during Sir Alex Ferguson’s spell at the club and when he was strutting his stuff for Real Madrid in Spain.

Yet he’ll need to do it more often if the Red Devils are to qualify for next season’s Champions League.

With Ronaldo and United enduring a frustrating season, links to other clubs have arisen in recent times.

Paris Saint-Germain have emerged as potential suitors, though any possible transfer is likely to hinge on what happens with Kylian Mbappe.

Mbappe’s contract expires in the summer and, if he leaves on a free transfer, then the Ligue 1 titans may make a move.

Bayern Munich have apparently expressed interest in a deal, especially with Robert Lewandowski’s long-term future up in the air.

And Jose Mourinho’s Roma are eyeing a deal, too.

Meanwhile, Luke Chadwick has opened up on Ronaldo after his goal helped United to victory over Brighton on Tuesday.

“The result is the most important thing, but it was also good to see a response from Ronaldo,” he said.

“He looked a bit frustrated and eager to get into positions to score goals. Apart from that it’s another clean sheet and hopefully the team can kick on from that.

“You could see last night that Ronaldo has still got plenty to offer in that no 9 position, his movement in and around the box was first class during the whole game.

“There’s always going to be speculation about someone like Ronaldo because he’s such a big name, and when things aren’t going well people start to talk, there’s a lot of noise around him.

“You’d like to think he’d like to leave United in a better position than when he arrived.

“He still has time left in him, he might not be able to play 90 minutes every single game, but he’s got a role to play.

“He scored a great goal last night and I think that’ll do him the world of good.”

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