Crisiano Ronaldo cut a very frustrated and fed up character during and after Manchester United’s 4-0 defeat at Brighton on Saturday.
The superstar is set to end a season without silverware for the first time since the 2014/15 campaign. He left the Amex Stadium separately from his teammates after the loss to the Seagulls at the weekend, another damaging loss for United.
It’s a worrying sign for United after Ronaldo had called on the whole squad to uphold “the right mentality” in January. He will be undoubtedly be frustrated with a lack of both trophy success and Champions League qualification, but speculation that the Portugal captain could force a move away from Old Trafford this summer looks to have cooled.
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Now, former teammate Rio Ferdinand has called on Ronaldo to switch his own mentality during the latter stages of his career at United. Instead pursuing silverware, he urged him to concentrate his efforts on nurturing the up-and-coming talents within the squad and use his energy on helping the incoming Erik ten Hag.
Speaking on YouTube show FIVE, he said: “I just feel with Cristiano he’s always been known for winning and every team he’s been at has been challenging for all the top honours. I think he’s going to have to change his mindset and leave a different type of legacy at this point in his career with Man United.
“It’s about working out what it’s going to be for Cristiano Ronaldo. Help the next manager integrate with the new team and new environment, helping with the young players and new players who come in the door. Be that experienced player that's a shoulder to lean on.
“And maybe shift his attention from glory and the trophies to really having that personal impact at the football club - it’s a bit different to what he has probably done before because it’s been trophy-led all the time.”
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