Ex-Manchester United man Louis Saha has claimed that he believes Cristiano Ronaldo “could have helped” his former side’s embarrassing 7-0 defeat to Liverpool this past weekend.
United had been on a good run of results, playing as one of the most in-form teams in Europe and even picking up their first piece of silverware in six years, Erik ten Hag‘s first for the club, with the EFL Cup.
That being said, with games coming thick and fast in the three remaining competitions, there was always going to be a blip. Still, nobody was expecting them to be on the end of a seven-goal thumping, especially given how inconsistent Jurgen Klopp’s side has been this season.
Nevertheless, their long-standing rivals went on to deliver a historic defeat — their worst result in 90 years — which ten Hag labelled as simply “unprofessional“. Now, though, with questions being asked as to how it happened and how it might have been avoided, former French striker Saha has had his say.
Speaking to Compare.bet, the 44-year-old conceded that “Ronaldo’s departure marked a fresh start for United, and it gave ten Hag a blank page to draw upon, which has allowed him to establish a winning mentality at the club”.
ADVERTISEMENT
However, despite insisting that “the club’s mindset has improved”, he went on to add, “I think they’d be doing even better if they had Cristiano up top. Of course, it’s hard to know for sure but when I see United losing 7-0 to Liverpool, I can only think that Cristiano could have helped.”
Despite agreeing that United’s results since the Portuguese star left have obviously improved massively, Saha continued: “It was a very difficult situation for ten Hag to deal with upon arrival at United, and it just didn’t go well. But I don’t think this is because of Cristiano, but because of the other players’ mindsets.
ADVERTISEMENT
“With the right communication, the right level of respect, maybe a compromise could have been found, but he’s still contributed to Man United’s resurrection by the effect he had on players around him. He boosted confidence, and gave players the freedom to express themselves, which has been a big factor in United’s improvement this season”.
On the other hand, the consensus seems to be that those in Red have directly improved as a result of the 38-year-old’s departure — hugely factoring into Marcus Rashford‘s incredible performances over the past few months, in particular.
Saha arrive just six months after Ronaldo and spent four years playing alongside him during a time in his career when he was on his way to becoming one of the best players in the world.
ADVERTISEMENT
More of a winger than an out-and-out back then (with the likes of Saha himself fulfilling that role at Old Trafford), it admittedly didn’t take long for Ronaldo to become a match-winner whom other players looked towards to turn things around in games; perhaps not yet a leader but certainly a focal point.
While there were certainly plenty of points rescued by the football veteran during his second spell at the club, he was regularly criticised for his lack of pressing and not tracking back to the same extent as his teammates — i.e. two of the primary reasons United lost by such a large margin on Sunday.
Do you agree with Saha that having a figure like Ronaldo on the pitch and in the dressing room would have helped, or could it hypothetically have been worse? After all, he was on the pitch for the 4-0 loss to Brentford.
Four players set to leave Salford City as club confirms retained list
Danny Jones
Salford City FC have announced their retained list for next season as this year’s EFL campaigns come to a close, with four players confirmed to be leaving the club.
It’s been another up-and-down year for the Ammies, with Karl Robinson’s side ever so narrowly missing out on the playoff places despite looking like they might just sneak in only a fortnight ago.
The Greater Manchester club has somewhat plateaued following their streak of promotions in the immediate years following the Class of ’92 buyout – even Gary Neville himself admits they’ve “lost some momentum” – but with another new era beckoning, who knows what the next few years hold?
One thing that we do now know is which players will be staying at the Peninsula Stadium, with Salford City revealing the four names set to depart upon the contract expiry this summer.
Following a sixth consecutive League Two season, Robinson and the administration will no doubt be looking to once again freshen up the squad in the coming transfer window.
That being said, while the likes of ‘Player of the Year’ Ossama Ashley, and fellow first-team stars Haji Mnoga and Luke Garbutt all seeing their deals extended into at the very least 2025-26, not mention seven new contracts offered to new players, they will be losing some key players and fan favouries.
Right-back Liam Shephard has also decided to join those parting ways with the Ammies head of next season, with many fans gutted to see the popular squad member heading for the exit door.
The club are going about sharing farewell videos for each of them, knowing full well a few will feel tought to take for some supporters.
Thank you for the past 4 years Shep ❤️
Across 92 games, a nearly 50% win percentage along with 4 goals and 13 assists, we thank @Liam_Shep2 for all his hard work 🫡 pic.twitter.com/G2cPLYx9hx
Crediting all of them for the years of service, especially given the roles that many of them played in helping Salford reach the playoffs in the 2022/23 season, the club expressed their gratitude to the senior quarter for their contributions.
Meanwhile, in terms of the youth set-up, there due to be even more departures, including the likes of Callum Morton, Jez Davies, Marcus Dackers, Sandro Da Costa and more.
You find out the full details from the 24/25 retained list HERE.
With a second modern takeover of Salford City having just been confirmed this month, the new ownership group will be looking regain some of that monentum Neville talked about and bring in replacements for the outgoings as they look to continue climbing the pyramid.
Ex-Salford Red Devils CEO steps back in to try and save the club from collapse
Danny Jones
Former Salford Red Devils CEO, Paul King, has flown in to help his former employers as the rugby league side hopes to rescue itself from the brink of complete collapse.
Paul King only left Salford Community Stadium and the Red Devils in February, being replaced by Chris Irwin, but since the latter resigned this month and promises of financial security still look far from coming good, the 54-year-old is back in the fold and trying his best to save the 152-year-old club.
Salford were the subject of a Swiss takeover earlier this year, which looked like it might beckon a whole new era for the long-established local team, but despite claims of clearing debts and righting the ship by businessman Dario Berta, it turns out that little has been done to fix the books since then.
In fact, as it turns out, Salford’s line of credit only appears to have been extended as the Devils are thought to be rather deep in the red (a rather cruel irony) with payday loans taken out to pay player wages and keep them afloat. With that in mind, King has come back to do what he can.
While the new consortium is yet to deliver key funds, King is taking the fall. (Credit: Salford Red Devils via Facebook screenshot)
As per multiple outlets, King has now returned to Salford in an ‘advisory role’, consulting on how best to navigate the persisting choppy water surrounding the club.
Although the club has so far refrained from making any kind of announcement of their own – the last being the confirmation of chief exec Irwin’s departure on 6 May – it’s understood that King has actually been continuing to help cover costs ever since he left.
The man himself has downplayed his impact thus far, stating that he’s simply “been pulled in from gardening leave to advise, that’s all”, insisting that “it’s all very short-term.”
However, despite no longer being actually a full-time member of staff at Salford Red Devils, he is said to have been paying player wages for the last three months and
Even more concerningly, though it will no doubt touch fans to hear, he is also believed to have put his own home up as collateral against what the club owes to lenders; it’s not even the first time he’s done this, either.
Former CEO Paul King is back at Salford Red Devils in an advisory role.
It's understood King paid the player wages for the past three months.
👹 The Devils are still waiting on significant funds from their new owners.
In a modern sporting era where owners, consortiums, nation states and so on are often criticised over their stewardship of clubs, this kind of generosity and hustle from a man who isn’t even technically employed by the business has to be applauded.
That being said, it’s no surprise that their struggles off the pitch have translated to performances as well, with Salford sitting at the bottom of the Betfred Super League table, having notched just one win this season. Some stability is needed, and soon.
Here’s hoping it all pays off – a community club that’s been around so long and means so much to the local area cannot be allowed to disintegrate.
Meanwhile, over in the EFL, neighbours Salford City FC have also seen their ownership change hands as they hope to avoid similar uncertainty in this next chapter. The sporting-obsessed city and its countless supporters have no intention of giving up on their teams.