Gary Neville reacted to Mohamed Salah’s news that he will leave Liverpool by bringing up the Manchester United ‘drama’ around Cristiano Ronaldo and Ralf Rangnick.
Ralf Rangnick, who is currently the manager of Austria, was brought to Old Trafford in 2021 as interim Red Devils head coach after Ole Gunnar Solskjaer was sacked.
The 67-year-old German’s reign at Manchester United during the 2021-22 Premier League season saw Rangnick have his major differences with Cristiano Ronaldo.
Rangnick dropped United legend Ronaldo from a starting role and Gary Neville felt the duo’s dynamic mirrored Mohamed Salah’s relationship with manager Arne Slot.
READ MORE: Rio Ferdinand makes Ryan Giggs comparison after Mo Salah’s latest Liverpool decision
Ralf Rangnick embraces Cristiano Ronaldo after their sides draw during the Premier League match between Manchester United and Chelsea at Old Trafford in 2022 in Manchester, England.
Photo by Alex Livesey/Getty Images
VOTE NOW for your pick between Eric Cantona and Cristiano Ronaldo
Who was the best Manchester United number 7 between these two icons?
Getty Images
Gary Neville makes a powerful assessment of Cristiano Ronaldo under Ralf Rangnick and Mohamed Salah’s plan to leave Liverpool
Mohamed Salah will leave Anfield in the summer and the 33-year-old Liverpool and Egypt star will be a free agent at the end of the 2025-26 Premier League season.
The Egypt captain has come under criticism over his form in the campaign and Salah’s relationship with Slot has been brought into question after being dropped.
More United News
Gary Neville said that Salah being benched for Liverpool was no different to when Cristiano Ronaldo would be dropped under Ralf Rangnick at Manchester United.
Speaking on the Stick to Football podcast, he said: “Big story, it takes over and consumes everybody and overwhelms the whole club and Mo Salah, to be fair, sits there on the bench, it just feels awkward, it’s Mo Salah.
“It’s like putting Cristiano on the bench, which Ralf Rangnick did.”
READ MORE: Rio Ferdinand and Gabriel Batistuta identify ‘big problem’ that nearly cost David Beckham his England career
Cristiano Ronaldo’s 2021/22 season was CRAZY – What went wrong for the team?
What was your favourite Cristiano Ronaldo moment in his second spell?
Cristiano Ronaldo 2021/22 graphic
Getty Images
Gary Neville explains why Cristiano Ronaldo being on the bench was a huge problem for Ralf Rangnick at Man Utd
Rangnick was expected to take up a consultancy role after his Man Utd interim managerial reign, but the former RB Leipzig boss instead became Austria manager.
The former Red Devils interim boss left the Premier League club at the end of the 2021-22 season and Erik ten Hag permanently succeeded Ole Gunnar Solskjaer.
United legend Neville insisted that Rangnick could not escape the ‘drama’ that was created after former Man Utd teammate Ronaldo became the centre of attention.
“Do you remember when Cristiano was on the bench, all of a sudden it just became the whole thing about Cristiano,” he added.
“So, it’s easy to play him [Salah], you know what I mean?”
Ronaldo pulled no punches towards Rangnick towards the end of his second spell at Old Trafford and criticised him during his bombshell interview with Piers Morgan in 2022.
Join Our Newsletter
Receive a digest of our best United content each week direct to your mailbox