Rooney tells Ten Hag to bench Ronaldo against Liverpool

Wayne Rooney has called for Erik ten Hag to drop Cristiano Ronaldo on Monday

Cristiano Ronaldo in Manchester United's 4-0 hammering by Brentford

Former Manchester United forward Wayne Rooney has told Erik ten Hag not to play Cristiano Ronaldo against Liverpool on Monday evening.

United's all-time top goalscorer has urged the Red Devils boss to get energy on the pitch, which would mean leaving out the 36-year-old's former team-mate for the game.

Rooney said: "I wouldn't play Cristiano Ronaldo, and I wouldn’t play Marcus Rashford.

"If I was in Ten Hag’s position my main concern would be getting energy on the pitch, and United’s failure to recruit a number nine means they relied on Ronaldo against Brentford , even though he hadn’t trained a lot with the team.

"He looked like he needs time to get match fit. ten Hag needs energy from his side and that may mean dropping Ronaldo."