"As it stands right now" – Journalist drops big Cristiano Ronaldo future claim at Man United

Manchester United ace Cristiano Ronaldo remains the main man at Old Trafford, according to insider Dean Jones.

The £27m-rated forward led the way with 24 goals last season and Jones expects him to start every week under incoming manager Erik ten Hag.

Following Ronaldo’s sensational return, Ole Gunnar Solsjkaer had a mouth-watering batch of attacking players at his disposal, which some thought would see them become title challengers.

Their 5-1 opening-day win over Leeds only highlighted their incredible firepower at the top end of the pitch, and that came before Ronaldo had arrived.

But the goals generally dried up after that and the Red Devils would fail to score in nine of their next 37 Premier League games.

Ronaldo still struck 24 times in all competitions, a more than respectable return for a 37-year-old, but the ex-Real Madrid man had little support from his teammates.

Wingers Marcus Rashford and Jadon Sancho, who signed for £73m from Borussia Dortmund last summer, scored just five goals apiece, while Bruno Fernandes might have been the only other United player to hit double figures, but still endured his worst goalscoring season since 2016-2017.

Meanwhile, Edinson Cavani found the net just twice and youngster Anthony Elanga once more than the Uruguayan, although he played less than 1500 minutes.

Despite a fine first season back at Old Trafford on a personal level, Ronaldo threatened to leave if Ralf Rangnick was appointed on a permanent basis, but Jones reckons the superstar now has no reason not to be content.

He told GIVEMESPORT: “I can’t really see why Ronaldo won’t be happy. Ten Hag hasn’t had him in training yet, at the moment Ronaldo is first choice centre-forward and there’s no competition to be playing.

“S