“When you go to a club and don’t start well, it’s tough. Especially at £80m. Sancho has a lot of potential so, hopefully, he can be reintroduced to the team soon. Hopefully, the fans will give him their support because he has a lot of potential. The difference with Rashford is played well for a couple of years at the club. He’s a local boy, so even when he had a bit of a dip he had that support from the fans. He had the luxury of the fans giving him a chance.”
‘Cristiano Ronaldo Had A Very Negative Effect On The Players’ – Liverpool Legend Reveals Two Man United Players Who Will Benefit The Most From The Portuguese’s Departure
Jan 12, 2023 at 8:11 PM
Former Liverpool attacker John Barnes has claimed that it was for the good of a couple of Manchester United players that Cristiano Ronaldo left the club. The Portugal captain was sacked by the club in what was labelled as a ‘mutual contract termination’, after he publicly hit out at the club in his infamous interview with Piers Morgan. Both United and Ronaldo have moved on now, with the player leaving Europe by signing for Saudi side Al Nassr, and the club looking for his replacement.
While his exit from the club which was his stepping stone to the success he is enjoying today was deemed as an unfortunate one, Barnes has opined that it was better for Erik ten Hag and United to get rid of the 37-year-old as he was having a ‘negative effect’ on two of the club’s present as well as future stars Marcus Rashford and Jadon Sancho.
Barnes reckons Cristiano Ronaldo exit a boon for Rashford-Sancho
At some extent, the claims of the Liverpool legend seem to be justifying since many have echoed his opinions. Rashford and Sancho did suffer negatively as a result of United re-signing Cristiano Ronaldo [purely based on emotions to avoid him from joining Manchester City] last summer. The same time when they spent a stunning £73m on Sancho’s acquisition from Borussia Dortmund.
However, given Ronaldo’s urge to play every single minute at the club, the managers before Ten Hag had to frequently bench either of Rashford or Sancho in order accommodate the five-time Ballon d’Or winner. So much so that they were even willing to accept the duo’s poor form where they combined for just 10 goals and 5 assists in across their 70 appearances during the 21/22 season.
However, with Ronaldo gone, Barnes feels this will only help the youngsters to flourish under Ten Hag who has already built a reputation of taking tough calls. Rashford [15 goals this season] has already scored three times more the number of goals he managed last season, whereas Sancho unfortunately is tackling both physical as well as mental health issues. Barnes, meanwhile told BonusCodeBets:
“Rashford will be a fantastic player for Manchester United. He needs to focus on playing in those wide positions and coming inside to affect the game. He’s not a centre-forward. That’s not his game. I’m pleased for him because he went through a sticky patch last year, which was because of the disharmony at United.