Cristiano Ronaldo named among six leaders at Manchester United by Ralf Rangnick

Ralf Rangnick believes Cristiano Ronaldo can become one of the leaders of the Manchester United squad in their bid for a successful run-in.

Ronaldo emphatically ended his lean spell of one goal in 10 games with a superb hat-trick in the 3-2 win over Tottenham to take his club tally for the season to 18 goals in 31 games.

The 37-year-old's role had been questioned by some in the side, with Rangnick also believed to have doubts about Ronaldo's role at United beyond this season. Certain analysts also speculated about the extent of Ronaldo's hip flexor injury that prevented him from playing in the 4-1 thrashing by Manchester City eight days ago.

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Ronaldo was responsible for the 10 points United secured to win their Champions League group and he has claimed six winners in the Premier League. The 37-year-old is certain to start against Atletico Madrid in the Champions League round-of-16 second leg and Ronaldo has plundered two hat-tricks against the Spanish champions in the competition with Real Madrid and Juventus.

"Again, I think it was a top performance today by the whole team," Rangnick said. "As I said earlier on, he (Ronaldo) made the difference but it is not the right moment after a top performance to speak about what might happen in the next 15-16 months. For me what is important is what happens in the next three months, two months until the end of May.

"Everybody in this club, the fans, players, staff members, everybody wants to be part of that Champions League season after Tuesday. We want to proceed to the next round and the quarter-finals. He is an important player of course, with his reputation and with the way he can still play, he has influence on the team for