John Barnes has named two Manchester United players who have benefited from Cristiano Ronaldo’s exit.
Ronaldo was released by the Premier League club in November after a controversial interview in which he slammed United, the club’s owners and new manager Erik ten Hag.
The Portugal legend returned to Old Trafford in August 2021 and largely impressed last season, scoring 24 goals in all competitions.
But the situation began to turn sour towards the end of last term and it continued under Ten Hag, who often omitted Ronaldo from his starting XI.
‘I think that since Ronaldo has gone, look at Jadon Sancho, look at Marcus Rashford, a lot of players are doing better because Ronaldo overshadowed them,’ Barnes told BonusCodeBets.
‘I think Rashford had a bit of a dip, because he wanted to be one of the main players of Man Utd, as he is [now].
‘I think it’s not a surprise to me that you can see an improvement in him since Ronaldo is not there anymore.’
Rashford has massively impressed since the domestic season restarted following the conclusion of the World Cup in Qatar.
The England international has scored eight goals across his last nine games in the Premier League and has also impressed in the FA Cup and Carabao Cup.
Sancho, meanwhile, has recently been reintegrated into the United first team following some time away after he had been struggling ‘physically and mentally’.
‘[Sancho is] a fantastic player and he has got great potential,’ Barnes added. ‘He came to United at a time where the club as a whole was struggling.
‘Having come in for £75m where he was put into the team and he was expected to be one of the main players.
‘He was overshadowed by the likes of Ronaldo and Bruno Fernandes so his confidence suffered because he’s a young player.
‘They’re now handling him with care. He’s going to be playing with a lot more confidence and the future looks bright at United with young players being given their chance.’
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