Man Utd told Cristiano Ronaldo would struggle but Gareth Bale would shine at Old Trafford

Former Manchester United star Lee Sharpe believes Cristiano Ronaldo wouldn’t be enough to lift Ole Gunnar Solskjaer’s struggling side.

The Portugal international left Old Trafford for Real Madrid back in 2009 and has gone on to become one of the best players to ever participate in the sport.

And Sharpe believes United would ‘still be off the pace’ if Ronaldo was there – but admits the gap would be significantly less.

“I think [United] would still be off the pace,” he told MetaRatings.

“But they wouldn’t be that far off with someone scoring 25-30 goals a season.

“We saw that with Liverpool with [Luis] Suarez a few seasons ago, how much it changes things.

“If you’ve got a player that can run from the halfway line and score when you’re under the cosh.

“And someone that can score tap-ins, headers, volleys and from outside of the box, an array of goals that can come from one player, then you’re always in with a chance.

“The amount of chances you’ll create at a club like United, chances are that you’re going to score more than you’ll concede.

“If you’ve got a Ronaldo or a [Lionel] Messi, even a Harry Kane, then you’re never going to be too far off the pace.”

Sharpe does believe, though, that Gareth Bale could be the answer.

The Wales international has long been linked with a move to the club, dating back to his time at Southampton.

Sir Alex Ferguson wanted to land him during that time but was gazumped by Tottenham.

United tried again during Bale’s time in north London but David Moyes was beaten to his signature by Real Madrid in 2013.

Jose Mourinho, like his two predecessors, tried snapping up the Welshman during his own Old Trafford reign.

And Sharpe believes Bale could be key to United turning their form around.

When asked about United having good players on their ranks, capable of shining, he added: “I think [Paul] Pogba can on his day and we’ve seen that a bit.

“But that’s probably because the team that he’s playing in isn’t as strong as the teams that [Wayne] Rooney and Ronaldo played in, so it hasn’t allowed it to happen.

“I do think that they need one or two more of them.

“It’s a shame they couldn’t bring Ronaldo back, instead of him going to Juventus, could they bring Gareth Bale over?

“How many players round the world actually do that week in week out? There are a very limited number of them, and when you’re not in the Champions League, how do you pull them in to the club?”

source: express.co.uk