Man Utd chiefs believe Ronaldo should be 'encouraged to leave this summer'

Manchester United chiefs are growing in the belief that Cristiano Ronaldo should be allowed to leave the club this summer, according to reports.

Ronaldo returned to Old Trafford to much fanfare last summer, with his arrival touted as the one which would bring United back into the Premier League title picture. But despite scoring 18 goals in all competitions, the Red Devils have gone backwards this term, first under Ole Gunnar Solskjaer and then his interim replacement Ralf Rangnick.

Having already crashed out of the League Cup, FA Cup and Champions League, fighting for a place in the top four is United's only chance of escaping a miserable season with a modicum of success. However, defeat at Everton served as another major blow to their Champions League aspirations, leaving them in seventh place and six points behind fourth-placed Tottenham.

United are already looking to the future in the dugout and it is believed that Erik ten Hag is closing in on the top job at Old Trafford, with the Ajax bosses in talks over his appointment. Like Rangnick, Ten Hag has a reputation for high-pressing, high-octane football, as evidenced during his time in Amsterdam.

And there is a feeling behind the scenes that Ronaldo, now aged 37, is unsuited to that style of football, with his struggles under Rangnick painting the picture of a player unwilling or unable to adopt a high press. Mail Sport report that certain United chiefs have already concluded that Ronaldo should be encouraged to leave at the end of the season, having signed a two-year contract with the option of a further 12 months just last August.

The report adds that Joel Glazer and the board will have the final say over the Portuguese talisman's future, who again cut a frustrated figure during the dismal defeat at Goodison Park. Pressure to move Ronaldo on is also coming from the outside with a number of high profile figures suggesting it would be best to look to the future.

HAVE YOUR SAY! Should Man Utd move Ronaldo on at the end of the season? Let us know in the comments

One of those is record goalscorer Wayne Rooney who risked the wrath of his former team-mate when stating that his old pal's return had not necessarily gone to plan and that United should instead build around the younger players in the squad.

"I think if you're looking to the future of the club, you have to go with younger, hungry players to do the best and lift Manchester United over these next two or three years," the Derby boss said during an appearance on Sky Sports' Monday Night Football.

"Obviously Cristiano is getting on a bit, he certainly isn't the player he was when he was in his 20s, and that happens, that's football. He's a goal threat but the rest of the game they need more, they need young, hungry players."

Jamie Carragher also intimated that Ten Hag should cut ties with Ronaldo: "I think it's a good decision, I think it's a brave decision," he said of appointing the Dutchman. "The easy choice would have been Pochettino because he's been in the Premier League before, so they've gone for a manager who's not been in the Premier League.

"I don't think he's getting picked for the fact of just what he's done for Ajax in terms of being successful because you expect that at Ajax. But what they've done in the Champions League in terms of getting to the semi-final, how they play their football, their performance in the group stage this season.

"They'll be disappointed to go out to Benfica but I think it's a brave choice because I do think Manchester United now need to start making brave decisions, and some of them about the players as well, in terms of Pogba and Cristiano Ronaldo need to go."