Cristiano Ronaldo will not accept role as solely a Europa League player, believes Paul Scholes
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Updated 15/09/2022 at 16:55 GMT
Cristiano Ronaldo appears to have lost his place to Marcus Rashford and Anthony Martial in the Premier League this season, with new signing Antony only further blocking his first team opportunities. Former Manchester United midfielder Owen Hargreaves and Paul Scholes said before the game against FC Sheriff that he would not be willing to accept his role for the long term.
Ten Hag confirms Ronaldo fit to start Europa League opener
Paul Scholes and Owen Hargreaves believe that Cristiano Ronaldo is "one of the greatest of all time" and he will not be satisfied with only playing in the Europa League this season.
Ronaldo has failed to start regularly under manager Erik ten Hag but leads the line in Moldova against FC Sheriff for United on Thursday in their Europa League group game.
It is open to question whether Ronaldo would have started the game ahead of Marcus Rashford had the England forward not suffered an injury, given the club did have to play a domestic fixture at the weekend following the passing of Queen Elizabeth II.
Speaking to BT Sport ahead of the match, former Manchester City player Hargreaves said: “We know for Cristiano, if he gets an opportunity, you can guarantee he'll score goals. He just wants to score goals. It's amazing that he's kept this level still.
“He's one of the greatest of all time. He's not going to be on the bench for any team. He backs himself every time, he'll never put himself on the bench. He's one of the greatest of all time.”
Scholes agreed, also describing him as a "Champions League player" and one of the best to have played the game, but believes playing in the Europa League is a good chance for the 37-year-old Portuguese international to impress.
He said: “It gives him a chance to score goals and get himself into the Premier League team.”
The pair also said that captain Harry Maguire is also struggling, with Scholes noting he lacked confidence.
He said: “With the way his form has been, they didn't win a game, then they win the next four without him. The whole back four seems solid without him. Seems like he's lacking confidence.”
Hargreaves said he would have to impress if he was not to drop to fourth choice behind Victor Lindelof, explaining: “It's tough for him, for any player not playing. He'll have to bide his time and when he gets back in he'll have to play really well. force the manager's hand.”
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