Cristiano Ronaldo has been slammed for the "disgraceful influence" he is having on Manchester United 's young stars as he desperately tries to leave the club.
The Portuguese superstar has made it clear that he believes his future lies away from Old Trafford. It follows a season in which United stumbled towards their lowest-ever Premier League points total, missing out on a place in the Champions League in the process.
That has led to the 37-year-old demanding he be allowed to depart as he approaches the final seasons of his career. While there are few suitors who are making moves for him, United are also refusing to sanction an exit.
But that has only fuelled Ronaldo to push through his attempts to leave, with the attacker not expected to play any part in United's penultimate friendly on Saturday. He is still yet to feature under Erik ten Hag, though he has taken part in some light training work.
The way he has gone about attempting to secure an exit has left Ronaldo with few fans though. And former England international Trevor Sinclair believes his attitude is having a negative effect on United's younger players.
“He's holding the club to ransom. Erik ten Hag is new in the job and it's a difficult situation for him to be in. But I don't want to see this. I don't want to see Manchester United as a huge club getting bullied. I think that's what Ronaldo's trying to do," Sinclair told talkSPORT.
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"If Manchester United heed to Ronaldo's demands, they're proving they can be bullied off a footballer. We understand he wants to break records, but if he and his team-mates were better last season, they could have got into the Champions League then.
"For me, he’s not earned the right to be in the Champions League this year because his team’s not been good enough. You know, you talk about good influences on young players, he has been spoke about in that way.
"Well, this is a disgraceful way to influence young players. Spitting your dummy out, saying ‘I want this, I want that, the club doesn’t matter, it’s all about my records’. I remember when Dimitri Payet went on the same thing, it was in the papers that he’d gone on strike.
"They [the media] absolutely destroyed him. Where’s the equality when you talk about players and situations and demanding things? There were almost effigies being burned of Payet, and you look at Ronaldo and he’s getting away with murder!”
Ronaldo held a meeting with United transfer chiefs this week, after Atletico Madrid appeared to close the door on making any move for the attacker. Sporting Lisbon could be an option in what would be a fairytale return to his boyhood club.
But first they will need United to sanction an exit, which appears to be unlikely given Anthony Martial is the only other striker on their books. Ronaldo may then be forced to stay, with his attempts to leave currently failing.
