Cristiano Ronaldo can become the greatest player of all time at Manchester United - but he must go back to being the 22-year-old kid with no airs and graces who they remember so fondly at Old Trafford, according to Stan Collymore.
Despite leading United's scoring charts with 18 goals this season, Ronaldo has cut a frustrated figure since his stunning return to Manchester last summer - and Mirror Football understands the club would not stand in his way should the veteran decide to leave this summer.
The 37-year-old has earned criticism for failing to acknowledge fans before storming off the pitch on multiple occasions, while Ronaldo could not disguise his anger after being substituted by Ralf Rangnick against Brentford in January.
Ronaldo's frustrations stem from problems both on and off the field: United's expected Premier League title challenge has failed to materialise, with the Red Devils now even in danger of failing to qualify for Champions League football next season.
There have also been accusations that Ronaldo has disrupted the United dressing room hierarchy, with the Portuguese legend and captain Harry Maguire reportedly on opposite sides of a battle for authority.
After recent injury troubles, Old Trafford fans saw the very best of Ronaldo as he hit a superb hat-trick in Saturday's 3-2 home win over Tottenham to keep their top-four hopes alive, though Arsenal sit a point ahead of fifth-placed United with three games in hand.
United could still end the 2021/22 season on a high, with Champions League glory still a possibility as they host Atletico Madrid on Tuesday night with the last-16 tie finely poised after a 1-1 first-leg draw.
Rangnick will be hoping for a second Ronaldo masterclass in the space of four days - but former Liverpool striker Collymore says the veteran forward must now put both the speculation over his future and recent frustrations to one side, and focus on delivering for United this season.
“The argument is for selling Ronaldo at the end of the season because United is a soap opera and they don’t need to be," he told Mirror Football .
“It’s all about, ‘Does Cristiano get on with Harry Maguire and Ralf Rangnick? Will Rangnick stay? Is Erik ten Hag or Mauricio Pochettino coming in? What’s happening in the boardroom? Does Sir Alex Ferguson still have any sway?’
“They need to cut all that off and, while I’d play him against Atletico Madrid in the Champions League and in every game between now and then end of the season if I was in Rangnick’s position, I’d also be having a word with him about the other stuff.
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“I’d be saying, ‘Look, we get it, you’re one of the world’s most famous men, you have all these followers to satisfy on social media and you have a lot of clout, but if you love this club, can we have no more chucking your arms in the air when you walk off, no more giving credibility to stories about you being in Portugal or Madrid for restaurant reservations?’
“I’d be saying, ‘Instead, can you help us in the run-in, get us into the top four where we want to be, and then we will give you a golden handshake, you’re even more of a club legend and off you go?’
“I’d just want him to go back to being the 22-year-old kid without the airs and graces because it now has to be all about the football.
“I’ve no doubt he loves United as much as he says he does, and so wouldn’t it be amazing if he did something very special for them by leading them into the top four or taking them as massive underdogs in the competition to win it?
“That would be the story of stories — he could drop the mic then and walk off into the sunset to earn one last pay packet anywhere of his choosing.
“But he has to do it, he can’t get subbed at 65 or 70 minutes and throw his arms in the air and trudge to the dugout, because him doing that becomes a dressing-room problem.
“So I want radio silence and football focus, because if he did all the above it would be one of the great stories.
“He would arguably be the best player ever.
“But if he just keeps chucking his arms in the air and is seen in Morocco with his missus and kids five hours after a defeat then he will just be a drag on the club and their ability to achieve their aims.”
