Man Utd: Cristiano Ronaldo has struggled because ‘no one crosses the ball’ any more, says Louis Saha

Cristiano Ronaldo has not lived up to expectations in his second spell at Manchester United because the team don’t cross the ball enough, says former team-mate Louis Saha.

Ronaldo cemented a legacy as one of the greatest players in football history after leaving United in 2009, scoring 551 goals in 572 games for Real Madrid and Juventus while winning four Champions Leagues and as many Spanish and Italian titles.

He also added another four Ballon d’Ors to his collection, having first claimed the prize while at Old Trafford in 2008, meaning there was plenty of excitement when he sealed a return to the club last summer.

However, while he is still their top scorer this season with 15 goals, the Portuguese superstar is on course to record his lowest tally since the final year of his first Red Devils stint in 2008/09.

Ronaldo has scored at least 28 goals in each of his last 12 seasons, but Saha feels he is suffering from a lack of crosses at United right now.

‘Because of the way teams are playing now, you don’t have that much crossing,’ the Frenchman told The Mirror via Freebets.com.  

Despite being top scorer, Ronaldo hasn’t lived up to expectations since returning to United

Saha insists his former team-mate thrives on whipping in and attacking crosses into the box

‘Back in the day there was a lot of crossing, Giggsy [Ryan Giggs] on one side and Cristiano on the other, and you could be [Ruud] van nistelrooy, Carlos Tevez or me or Wayne Rooney, you could receive balls.

‘But I’ve barely seen one cross in the box, no one crossing the ball.’

The peak form of Ronaldo’s career came while operating in a wider attacking role, yet in recent years the 37-year-old has been forced to adopt a more central position upfront.

Saha does not put his apparent decline down to that positional tweak, insisting it was necessary to maintain his best physical condition. 

The Frenchman doesn’t feel Ronaldo’s positional change has anything to do with his struggles

‘The thing is it’s easier physically to be a number nine than a number seven, especially nowadays when you have to really defend,’ he added.

‘He’s 37, he’s not a machine, and I feel like it’s a clever move and in some way his experience around the game, whatever his position, can be used correctly and I think he proved that really well.

‘So I understand, and it reminded me a little bit of my style because I can come on one side or the other and disrupt the defensive line.’