‘No one wanted him’ – Ronaldo urged to remain at Man Utd as Neville claims limited game time is not an ‘insult’

• Portuguese wanted to leave Old Trafford
• No deal was put in place
• Now having to settle for limited game time

WHAT HAPPENED? The five-time Ballon d’Or winner spent much of the last transfer window making a push for the exits at Old Trafford, leading to him being linked with the likes of Bayern Munich and Chelsea, but the deadline passed with no deal done. Ronaldo has since been forced to settle for a supporting role in Erik ten Hag’s plans, with plenty of bench duty taken in, but Neville says that should not be considered an “insult” and that the 37-year-old can still play an important role for the Red Devils over the remainder of the 2022-23 campaign.

WHAT THEY SAID: Former United defender Neville has told The Mirror: “What I would hope is that, like with any other player coming towards the end of his career, he'll accept that he won't play every single game and he'll stay and become a massive contributor like he was on Sunday night [in a 2-1 win over Everton] and United will have a good season. If Ronaldo stays I do think they have a far better chance of being a top-four team, even if he doesn't play every week and he comes off the bench like he did against Everton.

“But I suspect his mentality, his psyche is such that he can't not play. He feels it's an insult and people I respect enormously in the game think he's being disrespected by being on the bench, but I don't see that at all. I think Erik ten Hag has come out of this really well. For me, I hope he can somehow think, 'Where am I going to play where the fans love me as much, where there are still trophies on the table? We can achieve stuff.' Where is he going to play in Europe? In the summer, no one wanted him in the transfer window. I think United have played it pretty well, this one.”

THE BIGGER PICTURE: Ronaldo does have only two goals to his name this season, but one of those was his first in the Europa League and the other took him to 700 at club level in a remarkable career.

IN THREE PHOTOS:

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DID YOU KNOW? Ronaldo scored the 700th club goal of his career, 20 years and two days after his first. The Portuguese forward has netted 144 goals for Man Utd, 450 for Real Madrid, 101 for Juventus and five for Sporting CP.

WHAT NEXT FOR RONALDO? The Portugal international, who is counting down the days to another World Cup outing with his country, has entered the final 12 months of his contract at Old Trafford and is due to drop into the free agent pool next summer.