Former Chelsea and West Ham player, Carlton Cole has blasted Manchester United star Cristiano Ronaldo, saying he has contributed nothing to the club since his return from Juventus.
Cole also sympathised with Anthony Elanga after the player missed the penalty that led to United’s defeat during the penalty shootout against Middlesbrough.
Cole also conceded it’s ‘weird’ to see the Red devils in their current state, saying their players appear to be lacking drive and motivation.
“Who is in that changing room and actually leading by example? Yes, Ronaldo does it, but he came out the other day saying most of these young boys don’t listen. It’s a different era now and they respond to other things.
“I got slated for saying this about Cristiano Ronaldo before, that he’s come in and taken all the attention away from what Ole Gunnar Solskjaer was doing.
“I’m not saying that he’s not going to score you goals, he scores a bag of goals, but was he the right thing for Man United? Was he the right thing for that team?
“The evidence shows, and not even just from tonight, but going on everything that has happened since he came in, Man United still have not gone to the next level.
“I’m not saying it’s just Ronaldo’s fault – a lot of things have happened – but he is part of the problem too. “Obviously you’re going to look for Ronaldo but I don’t know whether he can lead by example anymore. He hasn’t got that tenacity.
“Where he used to be buzzing around the pitch, now he’s waiting, he’s goal-hanging right now because he’s trying to save his energy and score goals, that’s what his job is and that’s what we expect from him.
“The younger Ronaldo would have obviously been bombing around the pitch and charging about, but now he’s got to depend on his teammates.”
