"Part of the problem": Carlton Cole makes Cristiano Ronaldo claim after FA Cup defeat

Carlton Cole has claimed that Cristiano Ronaldo is "part of a problem" Manchester United now face following the club's FA Cup loss to Middlesbrough. Former West Ham man believes that the Portuguese attacker's arrival at Old Trafford has not helped the team to have a successful season build on their second-place finish last term. “Who is in that changing room and actually leading by example?” he said on talkSPORT. “Yes, Ronaldo does it, but he came out the other day saying most of these young boys don’t listen. It’s a different era now and they respond to other things. “What motivates these players? Is it money? Winning trophies? I can’t see it. “It’s a weird place to be for a team like Man United to have no drive and no passion. It’s just a weird place to see them. I can’t see where they’re going to get this leader from. “I got slated for saying this about Cristiano Ronaldo before, that he’s come in and taken all the attention away from what Ole Gunnar Solskjaer was doing. “I’m not saying that he’s not going to score you goals, he scores a bag of goals, but was he the right thing for Man United? Was he the right thing for that team? “The evidence shows, and not even just from tonight, but going on everything that has happened since he came in, Man United still have not gone to the next level.” Cole added: “I’m not saying it’s just Ronaldo’s fault – a lot of things have happened – but he is part of the problem too. “Obviously you’re going to look for Ronaldo but I don’t know whether he can lead by example anymore. He hasn’t got that tenacity. “Where he used to be buzzing around the pitch, now he’s waiting, he’s goal-hanging right now because he’s trying to save his energy and score goals, that’s what his job is and that’s what we expect from him. “The younger Ronaldo would have obviously been bombing around the pitch and charging about, but now he’s got to depend on his teammates. “He’s a leader in his own way, but he can only say so much to the players. They need someone who is going to show action as well. I was looking on that pitch for a leader, and I didn’t see one.”

Source: MEN

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