Cristiano Ronaldo is “allowed to have bad games” – and that is when his Manchester United teammates need to step up according to Dimitar Berbatov.
The Portuguese star returned to Old Trafford in the summer after more than a decade away.
However, his signing has coincided with a notable decline, which eventually saw Ole Gunnar Solskjaer lose his job.
Ronaldo, despite being the club’s top scorer, recently endured a six-game goalless run and has struggled to find the back of the net since the New Year.
He told Betfair: “When teams have a bad result the star players always end up with the blame, and at the minute with Manchester Untied, that’s Cristiano Ronaldo.
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“At the moment he’s got just one goal in ten games and that seems problematic for everybody, but not for me.
“There are eleven players on the pitch and the blame should be shared. Ronaldo is an icon in the world of football and people need to remember that he’s 37.
“So, from time to time he is allowed to have a couple of bad games. But I don’t think that is the problem here.”
Ronaldo’s only goal of 2022 came against Brighton at Old Trafford.
The Portuguese star has had to adapt to a new style, as have his teammates, following Ralf Rangnick’s arrival.
Ronaldo, as has been the case for more than a decade, attracts the spotlight and some of his antics and gestures have been slammed.
However Berbatov insists his supporting cast must do more to compliment the ageing forward.
“People need to be realistic with him and they need to know that it’s totally different when you’re 37 to being 27,” added the Bulgarian.
“He is going to have moments when he needs his teammates to produce more for him, that’s normal in football. Ronaldo is a total professional and he will speak to the manager and he will want to produce more.
“Everybody in the United team needs to produce more, the standards should be a lot higher than they are.
“Ronaldo is also a realistic guy, he will know that his performances aren’t where he wants them to be, even though he’s older and his game is totally different, he sets very high standards. I don’t think that needs explaining to him.”
