“Resurgent United will prosper without Cristiano Ronaldo” – Robbie Savage makes bold prediction on where Manchester United will finish this season

Former Manchester United midfielder Robbie Savage has opined that the Red Devils will be better without the services of their legendary talisman Cristiano Ronaldo.

Writing in his Mirror column, Savage has predicted an upward movement for the Red Devils, and he expects them to finish in second place:

"Erik ten Hag's World Cup contingent will come back from Qatar full of confidence, especially the defenders. Harry Maguire had an excellent World Cup, Lisandro Martinez won it with Argentina and Raphael Varane reached the final with France. And up front, Marcus Rashford is flying. Resurgent United will prosper without Cristiano Ronaldo."

Ronaldo made headlines following his controversial exit from Manchester United last month. The Portuguese ace had reportedly tried to leave the club during the summer transfer window. However, he was unable to find a team that he was interested in joining.

He eventually left United by mutual consent last month after a tell-all interview with TalkTV in which he criticized the club and its management.

Ronaldo missed most of the pre-season with Manchester United and some speculated that he was looking to make an exit. However, in his interview, the Portugal captain revealed that he had a family emergency during that time.

Ronaldo also claimed that United were trying to push him out and that he was looking forward to the season with the team.

He also stated that he did not respect manager Erik ten Hag. He also stated that he was unfamiliar with Ralf Rangnick, who took charge as interim manager last year.

The former Real Madrid man has reportedly received a massive contract offer from Saudi Arabian club Al Nassr FC.

It remains to be seen where he will end up, but it is clear that his departure from Manchester United was not a smooth one. He scored three goals in 16 appearances across competitions before his exit.

The Red Devils are currently fifth in the Premier League, 11 points off leaders Arsenal.

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Manchester United fans show their feelings towards Cristiano Ronaldo

As Manchester United faced Burnley in the Carabao Cup, fans took the opportunity to express their feelings towards former player Ronaldo. The Portuguese forward had recently left the club amid controversy and fans sang a new song expressing their lack of concern for him:

“I don’t care about Ronny, Ronny doesn’t care about me. All I care about is MUFC."

The video of the song quickly gained popularity, being viewed over 2.7 million times on TikTok with the caption "bye-bye Ronaldo".

Despite the off-field drama, United were able to secure a 2-0 victory over Burnley to progress to the quarter-finals.