Cristiano Ronaldo will soon leave Manchester United, according to Arsenal star Paul Merson, who fears the Portuguese’s return to Old Trafford will be short-lived.
He believes the club’s’shambolic’ search for a new permanent manager will lead to the 36-year-departure old’s from the club he returned to in the summer.
Despite Manchester United’s current struggles, Ronaldo has kept up his incredible goal-scoring form, scoring ten goals in all competitions thus far.
Ole Gunnar Solskjaer was fired by the club last Sunday after a string of poor results, the most recent of which was a 4-1 defeat at Watford last weekend.
Michael Carrick, a club veteran and assistant coach, was given the post on a caretaker basis while an interim or permanent manager is found.
And Merson believes that the club’s refusal to appoint a permanent manager rather than an interim manager could lead to Ronaldo’s departure from Old Trafford.
“Manchester United needing an interim manager is a farce – and Cristiano Ronaldo might opt to leave in the summer,” he told the Daily Star.
“He won’t be hanging around if they don’t finish in the top four because he will want to end his career in the Champions League.
“And that doesn’t look terribly likely right now because United are a mess and will probably get thrashed by Chelsea this weekend.
“It might actually suit all parties if he leaves anyway because if they appoint Mauricio Pochettino and he wants to press from the front, you’re not doing that with Ronaldo.”
Caretaker boss, Carrick will be in charge of the Red Devils when they travel to Old Trafford on Sunday to face high-flying Thomas Tuchel’s Chelsea side.