Former Holland coach Bert van Marwijk has urged Manchester United boss Erik ten Hag to follow the lead of Sir Alex Ferguson and ditch Cristiano Ronaldo.
Van Marwijk reckons Ajax have fleeced United by forcing them to shell out £84million for Brazilian winger Antony. And believes PSV Eindhoven forward Cody Gakpo offers better value for money.
But Van Marwijk does admit that United’s new signing does have superstar potential - and that he could be the perfect successor to Ronaldo. In his column for Dutch newspaper De Telegraaf, he urged Ten Hag to now show the same ruthlessness as Fergie by showing Ronaldo the Old Trafford exit door.
Van Marwijk said: “A player like Ronaldo often has a suffocating effect on a team.
“Other players would have been looking at him when he joined the group after a few weeks of missing pre-season. They are curious how the new coach will react to Ronaldo's presence. Believe me, players talk to each other and watch what a coach does with such a player.
“When the coach makes hard decisions, it works liberating for the group.
“It's hard to say goodbye to such great stars. I only know one coach in the world who didn't care what the fans thought. That was Sir Alex Ferguson.
“Look what Ferguson did with David Beckham at Manchester United. Beckham was the most popular footballer in all of Britain, but one day he just sent him away. Most coaches struggle with unpopular decisions, but Ferguson never did. He later sent Ruud van Nistelrooy and Jaap Stam, too.
“I look at the situation of Ronaldo in the United team and it reminds me of what happened with Beckham.”
Van Marwijk feels Antony will offer United something different. But he was shocked to see United break the bank for a player who isn’t prolific in front of goal. Ten Hag’s determination to sign the Brazilian has forced United to spend more than they had planned. The United boss had also hopes to add £35million-rated Gakpo to his squad.
And Van Marwijk, who guided Holland the the 2010 World Cup final, said: “Ajax did well to take 100million euros from Manchester United anyway.
“It is the absolute top price and that amount the club would never have received in the future for Antony. I have heard the criticism that Antony was never able to score 10 goals in a season at Ajax.
“But he is not a scoring player - and he will not score much in England. But he can make the difference because he has the ability to create things and can always give an assist. He looks spectacular with his actions, but is also really decisive.
“What I'm curious about is whether he can handle the physical resistance in the Premier League. We will find out soon.”
Van Marwijk is a huge admirer of Gakpo, the Dutch footballer of the year. He worked with the 23-year-old when he was coming through the ranks at PSV.
Van Marwijk said: “Cody Gakpo is more physically capable than Antony. He also has the ability to work himself to death for the team. Many creative players are lazy players by nature.
“But Gakpo is less spectacular than Antony - and therefore Antony's market value is higher. However, Gakpo will always be an ideal team player. Therefore, you can ask who would have the most value for Manchester United at the moment?”
