Cristiano Ronaldo might just end up pondering his future at Manchester United as a result of Harry Maguire’s form.
The England international was at fault again on Tuesday night as the Red Devils drew 1-1 with Burnley at Turf Moor.
Jay Rodriguez scored his 100th league goal after a piece of brilliant play from Wout Weghorst on his home debut in the Premier League.
But it did not reflect well on Maguire, who was beaten easily with a simple piece of skill from the 6ft7 striker.
After being left in bamboozled by the Dutchman, the £80m defender’s run back to goal proved fruitless as well when Rodriguez dashed into the box to tuck one past David de Gea.
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That cancelled out Paul Pogba’s earlier strike that put United in front while they had no answer to Burnley in the second-half.
Newcastle legend Alan Shearer could not believe his eyes and dug out Maguire, as well as Scott McTominay who did not cover himself in glory either.
He told Premier League Productions: “From Manchester United’s point of view, I mean Maguire and McTominay?
“The lack of effort and the lack of a tackle from Maguire and McTominay was embarrassing in that midfield.
“It was far too easy and that’s how Burnley scored.”
And the end result was another two points dropped, opening the door to the likes of West Ham, Tottenham and Arsenal in the battle for fourth place.
United had started the night in a Champions League spot but find themselves in a desperate battle now after dropping to fifth.
While they are a point behind the Hammers with a game in hand, Arsenal and Tottenham have two and three match over them respectively.
With both north London sides just three points behind the Red Devils, United could be struggling to finish in a Europa League spot, never mind the Champions League.
And that is not what Ronaldo would have had in mind when he made the sensational decision to return to Old Trafford in the summer.
After his arrival, as well as Jadon Sancho and Raphael Varane, many had tipped United to become potential Premier League challengers.
But that has been far from the truth while Maguire has blundered his way through the season with a series of mistakes that have cost the club points.
When United were thrashed by Liverpool earlier this season, the former Leicester man was arguably at fault for all five goals.
Similarly in the 4-2 loss to his old team, the Foxes took advantage of his shoddy form while in Ole Gunnar Solskjaer ’s last game in charge against Watford, it was Maguire that received a ridiculous red card as the Red Devils were put to the sword in a 4-1 defeat.
The thought of playing in the Europa League - or even the Europa Conference League - will simply not even be on Ronaldo’s brain and if United do not clinch a top-four spot it would be no surprise to see the five-time Ballon d’Or winner leave.
After turning 37 at the weekend, the Portuguese superstar will know that time is running out on his career and he cannot waste what precious years he has left.
With another Ballon d’Or his top ambition, that would likely mean leading his team to Champions League glory - but it could be dawning on him at a rapid rate that this might not be at Old Trafford.
