Man United news: Cristiano Ronaldo and seven teammates offloaded ‘without thinking’ – pundit
Cristiano Ronaldo is one of eight Man United players Erik ten Hag will get rid of “without even thinking”, according to Danny Mills.
Speaking exclusively to Football Insider, the ex-Man City and Leeds United defender claimed Paul Pogba, Eric Bailly, Victor Lindelof, Phil Jones, Jesse Lingard, Juan Mata and Nemanja Matic will all be sacrificed in the name of Ten Hag’s rebuild.
Matic connfirmed via Instagram last week (15 April) that he will leave the club at the end of the season when his contract expires.
Ralf Rangnick revealed today (22 April), via the i, Pogba will miss the rest of the season and he is also set to be a free agent this summer.
Mata and Lingard are also out of contract at the end of the current camapign.
Jones and Ronaldo’s deals run until the summer of 2023 while Bailly and Lindelof contracts expire in 2024.
“Pogba, Ronaldo, Bailly, Lindelof, Phil Jones, Lingard, Mata and Matic that’s eight already and that’s without even thinking about,” Mills told Football Insider correspondent Connor Whitley.
“Most of the contracts up so it’s very, very simple.
“Ronaldo might be a difficult one but I’m sure somebody would take him. Remember they didn’t pay too much for him. It’s not like they are going to take a huge hit in terms of a transfer fee.
“Ronaldo still has something to offer but if you’re talking about a rebuilding process and he’s only going to be there for one season, what’s the point?
“He becomes more of a hindrance than a help. Every time you lose it’s ‘Why is Ronaldo not playing?’ That’s the difficulty that you have.
“If you’re going to start afresh give yourself that opportunity to start fresh.”
In other news, Kieran Maguire has revealed a ‘£111million’ Man United reveal proves the Glazers have ‘finally woken up’.