Manchester United coach Ralf Rangnick continues to stir controversy over the future of his Portuguese star, Cristiano Ronaldo.
Ronaldo returned to Man United earlier this season with a two-year contract from Juventus, and he previously won 8 titles with the team during the period from 2003 to 2009.
The 37-year-old scored 17 goals in 28 league matches this season, and scored in a 1-1 draw with his guest Chelsea on Thursday evening.
Only the Egyptian Mohamed Salah, the Liverpool striker, is surpassed by Ronaldo in the Premier League scorers list this season, with 22 goals.
“This is something that I and Eric Ten Hag, the next coach of the team and the board of directors, must talk about,” Rangnick told reporters when asked about Ronaldo’s future.
He added: “Cristiano’s contract is still valid for another year. It is also important to know his position on staying at the club.”
And he added: “In the end, it will be the decision of Eric Ten Hag and Cristiano as well, to resolve this matter, it is not for me to talk about it, but Ronaldo did a great performance today against Chelsea.”
With Ronaldo scoring eight of United’s last nine goals in the league, Rangnick acknowledged that the team depended on him greatly, but said that the club would focus on signing new strikers in the summer.
The German coach continued: “At the moment, we rely a lot on Cristiano, and he also performed well when Chelsea had possession of the ball, but there must be a focus on the inclusion of two new strikers for sure.”
Man United occupies sixth place in the English Premier League standings with 55 points, five points behind Arsenal, the fourth in the table, which has two matches postponed.