Jamie Carragher and Gary Neville clashed in a Sky Sports debate over who would be Manchester United 's No. 9 if Cristiano Ronaldo was rivalling Wout Weghorst for the role.
The five-time Ballon d'Or winner left Old Trafford in controversial circumstances earlier this season, having been marginalised under Erik ten Hag. He had returned for a second stint at United in the summer of 2021, but was unable to produce the magic of old as time had caught up with him.
Ronaldo's goals were not justifying his all round play and influence on the team, thus he was often left on the bench. That proved to be too much for him and he vented his frustration in an interview with Piers Morgan, which saw him exit the club and leave Ten Hag with a gap to fill in the final third.
Due to budget restrictions the club had to go into the loan market and bought in Weghorst, who had been on loan at Besiktas. The Dutchman has only scored twice for the Red Devils but continues to get picked weekly, with Gary Neville highlighting the stats which show United are a more productive team - both in terms of wins and goals scored - when they have Weghorst in the team as opposed to Ronaldo.
The Sky Sports pundit said: "It wasn't working at the end, he's left, that was a provocative (stats) chart, but it is right and shows why Ten Hag is picking Weghorst."
Carragher immediately hit back: "You said they shouldn't be mentioned in the same breath, you put it up!" The former Liverpool man then put his colleague on the spot, asking who he'd pick, demanding an answer.
Neville, after some thought, said: "I don't know, I don't know who I'd pick. I think you'd move it from game to game, sometimes I'd pick Ronaldo, sometimes I'd pick Weghorst. If I was playing at home, I'd play Ronaldo, if I was away from home, I'd probably pick Weghorst."
Carragher reminded Neville that, only last season, he declared Ronaldo as the greatest player of all time - a view Neville stuck by despite the player's problematic last 12 months. He now finds himself in Saudi Arabia with Al-Nassr having claimed his time in Europe is over as he takes on a new challenge in the Middle East.
Weghorst has copped criticism for his lack of goals, but is not seen as the long-term solution to United's No 9 problem.
Anthony Martial's injury issues have cast doubt over his future in the role with the club expected to go into the market come the summer.
