Cristiano Ronaldo has backed Manchester United head coach Ruben Amorim to arrest the club’s slump after a difficult start to his compatriot’s Old Trafford reign.
Defeat away at Wolverhampton Wanderers on Boxing Day was a fourth in seven league games under Amorim, who replaced former manager Erik ten Hag in November.
Ronaldo, who scored 145 goals in 346 appearances across two spells at Old Trafford, including five months under Ten Hag, said Amorim can guide the club through the current “storm”.
Speaking at the Globe Soccer Awards in Dubai, where he was named the best player in the Middle East, Ronaldo said: “I (said) this one year and (a) half ago and I will continue to say, the problem is not the coaches.
“It’s like the aquarium and you have the fish inside and it’s sick, and you take him out and fix the problem. If you put him back in the aquarium it will be sick again. This is the problem of Manchester United. It is the same.”
Ronaldo added: “He (Amorim) did a fantastic job in Portugal with my (former club) Sporting but the Premier League is a different beast, the most competitive league in the world.
“I knew that it would be tough and they will continue the storm. But the storm will finish and the sun will rise.
“Things crossed, it will be good with him and I hope the best for Manchester United because it is a club I still love.”
United, 14th in the table with the new year approaching, are currently closer to the relegation zone than the Champions League qualification places and Amorim admitted his job will be in “danger” if he does not turn things around.
“The manager of Manchester United can never, no matter what, be comfortable,” he said. “I know the business that I’m in. I know that if we don’t win, regardless of if they paid the buy-out or not, I know that every manager is in danger.
“I like that because it’s our job. I understand the question and you can say that I’m here a month and had four training sessions, but we are not winning. That is the reality and I’m quite comfortable with that.”
United return to action against Newcastle United on Monday.
GO DEEPER
Manchester United and Amorim are in a storm – who knows when it will pass?
(Top photo: Waleed Zein / Anadolu via Getty Images)
