Manchester United superstar Cristiano Ronaldo has lost his place at the top of the pecking order for the central striker role thanks to Marcus Rashford enjoying ‘a new lease of life’ at Old Trafford, according to journalist Pete O’Rourke. Ronaldo has made 337 appearances over the course of two spells with the Red Devils, while he has scored 142 goals in the process, but he has not been a regular starter during the early stages of the season.
Ronaldo has only been included in the starting line-up twice since Erik ten Hag took over as Manchester United’s boss, but his current employers were defeated on both of those occasions.
While the 37-year-old has entered the final 12 months of his £480,000-per-week contract at Old Trafford, he was keen to seal his departure during the summer transfer window.
It emerged during the close season that Ronaldo had told the Manchester United hierarchy he wanted to leave the club due to wanting to compete in the Champions League.