"God knows where they would be without him" - Alan Shearer rubbishes claims that Manchester United off without Cristiano Ronaldo

Former Premier League striker Alan Shearer has claimed that Manchester United would have been in a far worse situation this season without Cristiano Ronaldo. Shearer rubbished the claims of the Portuguese being a 'problem' for the English club as was opinionated in the media in recent times.

The Portugal international scored a game-winning hat-trick against Tottenham Hotspur in the Premier League on Saturday. It was his first hat-trick since his return at Old Trafford to secure a 3-2 win over Antonio Conte's Tottenham Hotspur. He started the game after being unavailable for the game against Manchester City last weekend due to a hip flexor issue.

Ronaldo became the highest ever scorer in men's football, surpassing Josef Bican's world record (805) and extending his tally to 807 goals.

Shearer is amongst the many football analysts who don't think that the striker is the problem at United this season.

In his column on BBC Sports, he wrote:

“There are some people who think Cristiano Ronaldo is a problem for Manchester United, but god knows where they would be without him. I said a few weeks ago that, if it wasn’t for Ronaldo, United would be far worse off than they are. And Saturday’s game against Tottenham summed up why in a nutshell.''

Shearer believes the five-time Ballon d'Or winner responded to his critics with a hat-trick against Tottenham Hotspur. He praised the Portuguese's consistency in world football and added:

“He was quite simply the only reason they beat Spurs. His hat-trick was phenomenal and his overall performance was so good, it was staggering. It was no surprise to me because he has been doing this for years and years now. He has 59 hat-tricks, which is just ridiculous – but this was some response to his critics. All three of his goals were special in their own way.”

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Cristiano Ronaldo and Manchester United ready to take on Atletico Madrid in the Champions League

Manchester United take on Atletico Madrid in their second leg clash in the R16 in the Champions League on Tuesday at Old Trafford. They shared pictures of their training sessions, involving all the key players ahead of the much-important game.

The photos show the full-squad strength present for interim manager Ralf Rangnick. Bruno Fernandes, who was reported to have contracted Covid-19 last week, has also returned to the training session.

Manchester United will look to secure a win against the Spanish giants to keep their title hopes alive in the Champions League. The first leg ended in a 1-1 draw at Wanda Metropolitano in February.