Cristiano Ronaldo will stay at Manchester United this summer despite their failure in qualifying for the Champions League.
That's according to former United player Tomasz Kuszczak who has hailed the impact that the 'inspiring' Ronaldo has had at Old Trafford this season. The five-time Ballon d'Or winner returned to Manchester in the summer and although the team has disappointed he has delivered the goals he promised, with 23 to his name.
However, with United almost certain to finish outside of the top four and miss out on next season's Champions League there is growing concern that Ronaldo may look to depart in order to continue playing at the highest level rather than endure a season of Thursday night football in one of the final seasons of his career. However, Kuszczak has little doubt that he will remain with the club regardless.
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"Yes," the former goalkeeper told the Manchester Evening News, with Bet365, when asked if Ronaldo will stay. "When he came to United, he knew the position they were in at the time. He came to help; he came to build something and I'm sure there will be offers for him, but he will choose United.
"A player like him, an icon of football and one of the best graduations in the history of football coming back to Manchester United to help them back on track, it's inspiring. He's come back, he's scoring important goals, he's running the same as everyone else, given his age, he's still performing. To have a personality like that in the team, it's a huge motivation for the rest of the squad. I wouldn't blame Cristiano Ronaldo for any of the issues going on at United at the minute.
"I've played with him, and I can tell you he's a 100% professional. He's an example as a person, he's got a fantastic family, he's always motivated, always positive. You can tell from the way he plays he's always trying to help the team and to have somebody like that in the team is a huge benefit.
"I know it's easy to say, ‘United are underperforming, they're losing goals, Ronaldo is the problem’, but that's crazy. He's done nothing wrong. He's scored 22 goals [now 23 after his strike vs Chelsea] I think so far, which is fantastic. If all offensive players played like him, maybe United wouldn't be where they are in the table.
"There are some players at Manchester United, they don't perform, they don't score goals that they should. From the beginning of when he made his second debut, he's made a huge impact and has been playing really well. So, I hope he stays next season, but that's a decision only he can make.
"All I can say was when I was there with him, when he was younger, we all wanted to follow him. We wanted to see how he trained, what he used for motivation - there was a massive motivation for young players. All the others would say the same."
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