“Even more talented than Cristiano Ronaldo in many ways” – Louis Saha delivers bold verdict on former Manchester United man

Former Manchester United striker Louis Saha feels Nani was more talented than his compatriot Cristiano Ronaldo. The 43-year-old's bold remarks came as he spoke about Marcus Rashford's current struggles at the club.

Since returning from a shoulder injury, Rashford has been poor in front of goal, netting only four league goals in 13 games and one assist to boot. Interim boss Ralf Rangnick had also warned that Rashford must become more consistent to nail down a spot in the starting XI.

Although the 24-year-old responded with strikes in consecutive league games against Brentford and West Ham last month for the first time since December 2020, Saha feels he still lacks killer instincts much like Nani did during his time at United. Speaking to William Hill, Saha likened Rashford to Nani, saying:

"Rashford is an amazing player. What I like about him is he's very focused, he's not in the media for the wrong reasons. But sometimes it's about his emotions. He does have emotion within himself but he sometimes doesn't express it and so people get frustrated. He works hard… but he reminds me a little bit of Nani."

He continued:

"Nani was even more talented than Cristiano Ronaldo in some ways - in terms of his physical qualities, he could run all day, physically he was so strong, skillful as well. But he was not as deadly as Cristiano, who was very focused, knew how to score and when to score… And sometimes that's how I feel Marcus is, he's in-between."

The Portuguese winger was a highly-rated youngster when he arrived at Old Trafford in 2007 from Sporting CP. While he was known for his slick, eye-catching tricks and uncanny dribbling skills, Nani struck only 41 times for Manchester United in 230 games.

Saha urges Rashford to take his chances at Manchester United

Saha acknowledged that Rashford has shouldered a great deal of responsibility since he burst onto the scene as an 18-year-old back in 2016. However, the Frenchman urged the youngster not to miss his chance to make a difference for Manchester United like Nani. He said:

"Nani was an immense talent for me, I loved the guy, but people were frustrated because he couldn’t find the right moment to make the difference. He'd miss an opportunity that he shouldn't miss and sometimes that's what I see in Marcus."

Saha continued:

"But Marcus started out at Manchester United very young and was asked to be the superstar and the one to save the club, so the education and the way he has had to protect himself since then has been difficult for him."

Rashford was unavailable for much of the early part of the season due to a shoulder injury. Since his return in October, the England international has managed to score five times in 19 appearances across competitions for United.

Rashford started in the Premier League clash against Burnley on Tuesday on the back of consecutive league goals against Brentford and West Ham. The winger, however, failed to find the net as the Red Devils slumped to a 1-1 draw against the Clarets. The draw left United fifth in the Premier League table, a point off fourth-placed West Ham.