Former England cricket captain Kevin Pietersen believes that Manchester United could be threatened by relegation if Cristiano Ronaldo leaves.
Cristiano Ronaldo is said to be unhappy about the level of competitiveness at United and his agent Jorge Mendes is actively looking for transfers out of the club for his star client.
Having earned the nickname ‘Mr Champions League’ during his illustrious career, Ronaldo is understandably unimpressed about swapping Europe's elite competition for Thursday night matches in the Europa league.
The 25% pay cut that comes with the failure to qualify for the Champions League and Manchester United being slow to attract big names so far this transfer window are thought to be some of the reasons why the Portuguese legend is looking for the exit.
Unfortunately, one of the more plausible destinations for Ronaldo’s signature, if he does leave, seems to be to Premier League rivals Chelsea as their new American owner, Todd Boehly, has expressed his interest in the situation in the past weeks and has met with Mendes to discuss this as a possibility.
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United’s no.7 has the gravitational pull to cause two sporting worlds to collide as, former England cricket captain and colourful sports personality, Kevin Pietersen has weighed in on this ongoing transfer saga.
Pietersen, who scored over 8000 test runs in his career, is considered by many to be one of the best batsmen ever, and the 42-year-old is not shy of being one of the first to voice this opinion.
Much like Ronaldo, the cricketer only played at the highest level and was visibly frustrated when his or his teammates' standards dropped below those that were expected.
The former batsman is an avid Chelsea fan and, much like the rest of the football world at the moment, is revelling in the pain and uncertainty of United supporters as the team’s talisman is seeking greener pastures.
In a recent tweet posted yesterday that has since been deleted, Kevin Pietersen is pessimistic about Manchester United's future without Cristiano Ronaldo with the tweet saying:
“And the harsh reality for Utd, is that without CR7, relegation looms… !”
This inflammatory comment, perhaps playing to the circus that is Twitter, shows Kevin Pietersen’s polarising character that divided the England dressing room during his captaincy.
Although Cristiano Ronaldo's goals dragged a lifeless Manchester United team up the table last season, many more unrealistic scenarios would have to align for a club the size of United to be threatened by the drop zone to the Championship.
Manchester United are entering the Erik ten Hag chapter In the long history book of the club and it seems to be one of the most positive eras in recent time.
Ten Hag and his new team are flying to Thailand on Friday for the start of their pre-season tour where they face arch rivals Liverpool on the 12th of July.
Cristiano Ronaldo won't be on the plane as he is in Lisbon for personal reasons and the club are unsure when he will next be available.
Kevin Pietersen was acting like a normal rival fan wanting to annoy United supporters, however, his career and stature means he's anything but a normal football lover and perhaps he should consider this before posting such an explosive opinion.
Topics: Cristiano Ronaldo, Manchester United, Football, Premier League
Tom Horn