Manchester United legend Wayne Rooney has called for head coach Erik ten Hag to drop Cristiano Ronaldo from the playing XI. The Red Devils have had a horrid start to the new Premier League season with two defeats in as many games and Ronaldo has not been in his best form yet. Rooney feels that the team needed more 'energy' on the pitch when they face Liverpool in a crucial match on Tuesday. Besides Ronaldo, he also said that he reckons Marcus Rashford should also be left out. Manchester United Transfer News: Antony Left Out of Ajax Squad As He Forces Move To Premier League Giants

Speaking to the Times, the DC United manager said, "I wouldn’t play Cristiano Ronaldo, and I wouldn’t play Marcus Rashford. If I was in Ten Hag’s position my main concern would be getting energy on the pitch, and United’s failure to recruit a number nine means they relied on Ronaldo against Brentford, even though he hadn’t trained a lot with the team. He looked like he needs time to get match fit. Ten Hag needs energy from his side and that may mean dropping Ronaldo."

The Portugal star, who was once Ronaldo's teammate at United, did not take part in Manchester United's pre-season owing to family reasons and joined the team before the season, where he could compete in just one friendly game. Rooney had earlier said that Manchester United should let Ronaldo leave if he didn't want to stay.

As for Rashford, Rooney thinks that the England forward needed some, 'soul-searching.' "As for Marcus, I think he needs to do a lot of soul-searching and figure out what he wants, for his own good, before anything else. Because watching him is a real concern, he looks like he wants to be anywhere but on a football pitch," he said.

(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on Aug 21, 2022 04:59 PM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).