Cristiano Ronaldo has already proved Jamie Carragher's Manchester United theory wrong

Cristiano Ronaldo may have just opened his account for the season but he is having to contend with the fact he is no longer first-choice striker at Manchester United.

Marcus Rashford’s three goals in four matches make it hard to argue a case for him to be dropped post-injury with debate over whether Anthony Martial gets straight back into the team when he returns from his setback. It makes for a worrying picture for Ronaldo.

The 37-year-old never retracted the transfer request he submitted during the summer. His attitude since returning to United has been questioned many a time.

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From on-field gesticulations amid the team’s woeful 2021/22 campaign to leaving separately to his teammates after May’s 4-0 defeat to Brighton, onlookers questioned his commitment to the team - which was laid bare in his exit wish after promising to help the team develop in January.

One of his reasons for wanting to leave was the fact he did not believe the team could win silverware this season. A veteran in the twilight of his career, he feels he cannot wait around for a rebuild project to produce its fruits.

Ronaldo is a player who has enjoyed and expected success throughout his career and has been at the forefront of all of those accomplishments. It’s why he has a severe distaste at being substituted during a game, as seen against Brentford last season.

It was clear that his unhappiness over the last year at the very least contributed to the toxic United dressing room. It led some pundits to urge Erik ten Hag to offload Ronaldo this summer, despite his 24-goal haul during his homecoming campaign.

This included Jamie Carragher, who feared for the new manager if he