Cristiano Ronaldo's arrival at Man United made Maguire, Fernandes feel 'inferior': Neville

Former Manchester United star Gary Neville believes that the arrival of five-time Ballon d'Or winner Cristiano Ronaldo at the club this past summer has made captain Harry Maguire, Portuguese playmaker Bruno Fernandes and Uruguayan striker Edinson Cavani feel inferior.

Cristiano Ronaldo had an instant impact upon his second arrival at Old Trafford with the Portuguese legend scoring 24 goals in 38 matches across all formats and providing 3 assists in addition to it. 

Gary Neville comments on Cristiano Ronaldo's negative impact

While speaking about Cristiano Ronaldo on Sky Sports' Overlap, Gary Neville said, "I think at the start of the season, he created a problem straight away with Cavani.[Cavani was] being pleaded to stay and lead the attack for the year, but when they signed Ronaldo, Cavani was shot then and finished. It upset the dynamic in the dressing room for Bruno. I think Bruno looks up to him (Ronaldo) like a godfather in Portugal so it made him feel a bit inferior to what he was before. It made Maguire a little bit inferior as captain just naturally."

The 47-year-old added that some of the players in the Manchester United dressing room feel inferior because of the aura that Ronaldo generates while he is on the pitch. "Just his presence itself on the pitch means everyone’s looking to Cristiano with Harry trying to establish himself as United captain," explained Neville.

Manchester United's struggles strangely seem to have been exacerbated with the arrival of Ronaldo, as the club has only managed to score 58 points this season compared to the 74 points they scored last season. And that is not it, the Red Devils finished sixth this season, their worst ever finish in the Premier League's history.

Because of the increased struggles, the English defender is facing as the leader of the side, Neville added, "Harry Maguire has gone from someone who I think was growing on the pitch last year in Covid to someone who looks like he's shot to pieces when he pulls on a red shirt."

As for Fernandes and the others, Neville added, "Bruno looks like half the player. The rest of them, the young players, it looks like you’ve lost complete faith in them, let’s get rid of them. That’s when something has gone fundamentally wrong in the changing room, in the leadership, and I don’t think you can absolve anyone of blame. Everyone has to take the blame for that."