“Not easy to do” – Cristiano Ronaldo’s advice for Erling Haaland resurfaces as Manchester United push for transfer

Cristiano Ronaldo’s past comments about Borussia Dortmund’s Erling Haaland have been making the rounds on social media amidst rumors of his Manchester United move.

United have been admirers of the Norwegian striker for a number of years. Former United manager Ole Gunnar Solskjaer trained him at Molde, while his successor Ralf Rangnick also worked with him at RB Salzburg. Rangnick was also involved in the deal that got Haaland to the German club and wants the same at Manchester United as well.

Regardless, Ronaldo previously claimed to 'The Mirror' that Haaland could one day be one of the best players in the world. He said:

"It is hard to choose just one player to say this one will be the best. But I think it is exciting to see this new generation of young players, like Erling Haaland and Kylian Mbappe, who are coming through.

He added:

"Some players can have one or two great seasons, the really great players are the ones that keep doing it season after season, and that is not so easy to do. It takes a lot of hard work, and a lot of commitment."

The 21-year old Haaland has so far exceeded expectations and has 53 goals and 16 assists in 54 Bundesliga appearances for Dortmund.

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Manchester United are the dark horses for Erling Haaland’s signature

The likes of Real Madrid, Paris Saint-Germain and Barcelona are all expected to compete for Erling Haaland’s signature. Hence, it seems that Manchester United might eventually have to drop out. The club will be hoping that Rangnick’s experience with the player will play a role in convincing the Norwegian.

Manchester United fans will not want another Mino Raiola managed player at the club, though, after Paul Pogba. However, Erling Haaland has done more than enough to prove that he is a generational talent. The combination of strength, speed and technical ability makes him the perfect modern striker. His attitude and determination has been faultless since he broke through at RB Salzburg.

Manchester United are set to shirk the non-performing and lackadaisical Anthony Martial while Edinson Cavani is also looking to move to Barcelona. Cristiano Ronaldo is 36, Mason Greenwood not ready to be the primary goalscorer while Marcus Rashford looks like he will never be one. Instead, Rashford will be hoping that he can regain the same kind of form on the left wing that he has shown consistently over the years.

Manchester United will obviously need to sign a long-term striker in the coming windows, preferably in the summer. While there are certain other options available in the form of River Plate's Julian Alvarez and Benfica’s Darwin Nunez, Erling Haaland is the best option by a mile.