"Every player has not performed to a level apart from Cristiano Ronaldo" - Harry Maguire gives his honest verdict on Manchester United's dismal season

Manchester United defender Harry Maguire has opened up about their disappointing season, admitting that only Cristiano Ronaldo has performed at a good level. He highlighted the lack of confidence in the players and poor performances as a team.

United had a season to forget as they finished sixth in the Premier League table, accumulating their worst ever points tally (58). They went a fifth consecutive year without a trophy and were eliminated from all cup competitions before reaching the latter stages.

Speaking to The Guardian about Manchester United's season ahead of England's Nations League fixtures, Maguire said:

“You could see towards the end, the confidence wasn’t there. We can look at individual performances but every player has not performed to a level … apart from Cristiano [Ronaldo] with his goals.But if you look at individual performances, it’s hard when you’re playing in a team when collectively we’ve not been good enough."

He added:

“Football’s my life. I care about every day at the club. For it to end the way it has – sixth in the league, knocked out of the cups in games we should be winning … it was disappointing from the start to the end.”

Ronaldo was perhaps the only saving grace for United this season. The 37-year-old striker scored 24 goals and made three assists in 39 appearances in all competitions.

His clutch goals, which included a couple of hat-tricks, helped United get results in multiple games.

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Manchester United need to sign a striker to support Cristiano Ronaldo

While the Portuguese has shown that he can still perform well at 37, Manchester United cannot depend on just one man to win trophies.

With the five-time Ballon d'Or winner scoring 24 goals, the next best for the club was Bruno Fernandes with 10 goals. Meanwhile, Edinson Cavani, Marcus Rashford and Jadon Sancho managed a combined total of 12 goals.

This just goes on to show how desperately United need reinforcements in attack if they are to compete for any trophy next season.

As per journalist Dean Jones (via Give Me Sport), United are close to signing Benfica striker Darwin Nunez. The Uruguayan has impressed in the 2021-22 season, scoring 34 goals and making four assists in 41 appearances across competitions.