Former Manchester United captain Gary Neville has argued against suggestions Cristiano Ronaldo would make a combined United-City XI based on this season's form alone.
Ronaldo was linked with a move to Manchester City over the summer before making a sensational return to Old Trafford, but United haven't been close to league leaders City this season.
Neville was asked by fellow pundit Micah Richards whether he would include his former teammate in a combined XI, but the 47-year-old had no room for the Portugal star when looking for a player from Ralf Rangnick's team who might hold a candle to his opposite number at the Etihad Stadium.
The argument may worry United fans, who saw their team comfortably beaten by their neighbours at Old Trafford in the autumn and now face a reverse fixture against Pep Guardiola's men.
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In a video for LadBible, Neville and Richards debated whether a single United player could break into a combined XI on current form, and the former Old Trafford favourite decided the answer was no.
He suggested Bruno Fernandes came closer than any other member of Rangnick's squad, based on the form of the last 12-18 months, but City's embarrassment of attacking riches made it impossible to include the Portugal midfielder.
Fernandes and Ronaldo both have nine league goals this season going into the derby, one fewer than City's top league goalscorer Raheem Sterling, but Neville was unflinching in his assessment.
"You can't put Ronaldo in at the moment," Neville said, after Richards brought up the former Juventus forward.
Richards hit back, saying "If Ronaldo was in City's team, he'd already be on 20. 25 goals," and suggesting he'd have the 37-year-old in his XI.
"Who are you dropping? "Foden? Sterling? Mahrez? De Bruyne?" was Neville's retort, accusing Richards of bottling it when the former City defender suggested switching to 4-2-3-1 to accommodate Ronaldo in his combined side.
"Pep's played 4-3-3 for the last 25 years, and Micah's bottled it and changed his system on him," he said.
Richards isn't the only ex-pro who believes Ronaldo's output would have been greater if he had opted for the blue side of Manchester, with former United and City player Peter Barnes suggesting the better supporting cast at Guardiola's disposal would have made the difference.
“His goal record is great for a 37-year-old, but I think if he had come to City, he'd probably have 25 goals now, because the good players there would have found him a lot easier," Barnes told Mirror Football.
“They would have had the vision and the technique to put him in, whereas I think some of the players at United simply don't have that vision to put him in on goal."
