"He’s a very, very unique case" - Rio Ferdinand explains main reason why Manchester United have not allowed Cristiano Ronaldo to leave 

Former Manchester United defender Rio Ferdinand has said that the club hasn't allowed striker Cristiano Ronaldo to depart in the ongoing transfer window due to their dependence on him for goals.

Ronaldo, who is in the final year of his contract at Old Trafford, is desperate to leave the Red Devils after the club failed to qualify for the UEFA Champions last season. The 37-year-old also missed Manchester United's pre-season tour to Thailand and Australia last month.

Speaking to FootballJOE, Ferdinand opined on the five-time Ballon d'Or winner's future at Manchester United. He elaborated:

"The biggest thing for me is, if you're Manchester United, where are you going to find 20 goals? If you let Cristiano go now, where are the 20 goals coming from? Unless you believe in [Anthony] Martial, [Marcus] Rashford and [Jadon] Sancho to fill that void."

He continued:

"If he [Erik ten Hag] thinks that and he feels comfortable doing that, Cristiano will probably go to another team. The fact that Cristiano's not been allowed to go anywhere says to me they want him back in the building, because they know he's going to get them 20 goals this season."

Asked about the Portuguese's impact at the club, he replied:

"I think age and your body tells you that, but when you look at someone like Cristiano, he’s a very, very unique case. Physically, we've never seen anyone like him, and I think you’ve got to look at his physicality and his profile in that sense and go 'can he play a lot of games?'"

The six-time Premier League winner added:

"Last season, he showed people he can still play the games and still score the goals at the top level. That tells you he’s still going to be a massive part of what you’re doing at the football club, and the fact they haven’t allowed him to go anywhere tells me that."

After returning to his old club in 2021, Ronaldo scored 24 goals in 38 appearances across all competitions last season. However, the Red Devils went trophyless, finishing sixth in the Premier League.

Cristiano Ronaldo declared most 'abused' player in the Premier League

Manchester United superstar Cristiano Ronaldo has been declared the most abused player in the Premier League, according to Ofcom.

The list was prepared on the basis of tweets regarding each player between August 13, 2021, and January 24, 2022. During the aforesaid time-frame, Ronaldo received as many as 12520 abusive tweets.