Wayne Rooney questions Cristiano Ronaldo signing and backs Mauricio Pochettino for Manchester United job

Rooney believes his former side should go for Mauricio Pochettino ahead of Erik ten Hag when appointing their next manager

Rooney believes Man Utd’s signing of Ronaldo may have been a mistake (Getty Images)

Manchester United legend Wayne Rooney has admitted the re-signing of Cristiano Ronaldo has not worked out.

The Portuguese forward has scored 18 goals in 32 appearances in all competitions so far - averaging one in every two matches in the Premier League.

But Man Utd have struggled as a team and now look set to miss out on the Champions League places - just 12 months after finishing runners-up behind Manchester City.

And when asked whether the Ronaldo signing has worked, Rooney told Sky Sports: “You’d have to say no at the minute. Obviously he’s scored goals, important goals in the Champions League early on in the season. He scored obviously the hat-trick against Tottenham.

“But I think if you’re looking to the future of the club you have to go with younger, hungry players to lift Manchester United over these next two or three years. Obviously, Cristiano is getting on a bit. He’s certainly not the player he was in his 20s and that happens - that’s football. He’s a goal threat but the rest of the game they need more, they need young, hungry players.”

Rooney also had his say on who the next Manchester United manager should be - with the club’s record scorer backing Mauricio Pochettino to take up the role ahead of Erik ten Hag.

Interim boss Ralf Rangnick will move upstairs to become a consultant at the end of the season, meaning there has been much speculation over the soon to be vacant position.

“I think Pochettino has done it in the Premier League, he knows the Premier League. At Tottenham he brought a lot of young players through, at Southampton as well,” Rooney said.

“So if I’m going for one of those two (Pochettino or Ten Hag) then I’m going for Pochettino and give him time. Managers now need time to come in, put their blueprint on the club and the team. If you give him time I think he’ll do well.”

Pochettino and Ten Hag appear to be the leading candidates in the race to succeed Ole Gunnar Solskjaer as the new permanent head coach at Old Trafford.