Andy Cole has hit back at claims Cristiano Ronaldo was holding Marcus Rashford back in the wake of the Manchester United forward's remarkable form.
Ronaldo quickly re-established himself as United's talisman after rejoining the club from Juventus last summer by plundering 24 goals in all competitions. However, the veteran's form and influence waned this term after he was handed a reduced role by Erik ten Hag.
Ronaldo's struggles earlier in the campaign coincided with Rashford's renaissance: the England star is on course for his best-ever goalscoring season after usurping Ronaldo as Manchester United's main man and has already surpassed the 38-year-old's haul from last year.
Some people have gone on to question whether Ronaldo's departure was, in fact, the catalyst for Rashford's return to form. But Cole, a key part of United's 1999 treble-winning squad, has scotched that theory and believes "the Ten Hag effect" has inspired Rashford's turnaround.
After being asked whether or not Ronaldo's exit has played a part in Rashford's resurgence, Cole told Stats Perform: "I'm an individual. I'm not going to get involved in the Ronaldo thing because he left. Ronaldo wasn't there 18 months ago when Marcus Rashford was struggling.
"The [Erik] Ten Hag effect, I think. No doubt, the manager will be believing in him, telling him how good he is. But ultimately, as individuals, he could have taken his eye off the ball a little bit with what he was doing off the field. It could have been a little bit of that as well, but to see him in this really fit form now, the way he's playing, I think it's a testament to him.
"For me, personally, it doesn't really matter what anyone else does with you. I'm looking at him now, he seems to be telling himself, 'I'm at that level that I want to be at'. That's why he's playing so well."
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Cole's verdict ties in with Rashford, who made his feelings clear on Ronaldo when he labelled the multi-time Ballon d'Or winner as "unbelievable" after his exit from the club was confirmed back in November.
Christian Eriksen also hinted that there were no ill feelings in the United squad towards Ronaldo when he admitted it was "sad" that the striker would no longer be part of the club's journey.
"First of all we are sad that Ronaldo is not part of it," the playmaker said back in December. "His legacy and his name at any club is special, and for me to be fortunate to play with him in my career was very nice.
"But the football goes on. You feel that the next game after, people will forget what it was like before - and now our focus is really like he is not here."
