Gary Neville slams Cristiano Ronaldo's behaviour and sets him Manchester United challenge

Gary Neville claims Cristiano Ronaldo is the only player that can lead Manchester United right now but says he is failing to meet that demand.

The unsettled 37-year-old’s future at United remains unclear. When the Reds conceded early in Saturday's 4-0 defeat to Brentford, he was seen encouraging his colleagues, but this turned into furious gesticulations by the time the final goal went in.

It’s not the first time he has visibly shown his displeasure with his United teammates on the pitch. Ronaldo went off in a rage when substituted in the same fixture last season and was seen shaking his head in disbelief during May’s 4-0 defeat to Brighton.

READ MORE: Neville makes furious Cristiano Ronaldo demand

Neville believes the five-time Ballon d’Or winner has the opportunity to show his leadership credentials amid the mire but is choosing not to. Speaking on The Diary of a CEO podcast, he explained why he is “a little bit critical" of his former teammate.

"You're the man, you're the star, you're the best player in the world," he said. "Come on, now is not the time to be throwing your arms around. Now is not the time for you to be walking off the pitch.

"Now is the time to make sure you lead those people, but he wants to leave, he wants to go play somewhere else and that might happen, and who can blame him? He wants to finish his career at a club that is achieving great things.”

Neville added: "I do think he is the only player in that dressing room that could lead them because he's the only one with that in-built resilience and mental strength to get through a moment like this.”

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