Razeen Gutta
Life has not gone as swimmingly as many expected for Cristiano Ronaldo since his fairytale return to Old Trafford at the beginning of the season.
The five-time Ballon d’Or winner failed to score for a fifth consecutive game after coming on as a substitute against Burnley on Tuesday night. That is the longest run without a club goal for the Portuguese legend since 2010.
The issue is more than just the goal drought for Ronaldo at the moment.
The 37-year-old has just not been himself in recent games and was seen storming off the pitch at full time yesterday. Despite the side not getting all three points, this is not what the travelling United fans would have wanted to see from their legendary marksman.
Rumours circulating at the club suggest that the younger group of players feel intimidated by the former Real Madrid man, with reports suggesting he is not “approachable”.
The difficulties of the campaign thus far have already led to rumours of the Portuguese looking for a move away from the club. The 1-1 result at Turf Moor sent the Red Devils out of the Premier League top four just days after exiting the FA Cup.
Despite still being in the Champions League, Ronaldo will not be content with what the club have done since he rejoined, and he said the same in a social media post as the new year dawned.
“I’m not happy with what we are achieving at Man United. None of us are happy. We know that we have to work harder, play better and deliver way more than we are delivering right now,” he wrote to his 401 million Instagram followers.
Manchester United next host Southampton in Saturday’s early kick off. That is followed by games against Brighton and Leeds before a crucial Champions League trip to Atletico Madrid.
Image source: @USTimeToday
