Rio Ferdinand believes Cristiano Ronaldo is irreplaceable and urged Manchester United not to let the striker go.

Ferdinand, CR7's former teammate, said that his future must be sorted out to avoid a "hangover" for the club heading into the new season. "As players, you just want the situation ironed out and sorted out immediately. You don't want it lingering on and dragging on, I think Harry Kane had that with Spurs last year. But I think the reasons are different. Cristiano, there's been issues behind-the-scenes with his family and health and stuff like that. You have to take that into consideration."

Ferdinand continued, "But if the reports are true - that he's looking to move and what not - then you kind of want the club to nail that down so there isn't a hangover going into the season."

The five-time Ballon d'Or winner came back to training at Carrington after an extended leave due to family issues – he missed out on Man Utd's pre-season tour in Thailand and Australia. He made his first pre-season appearance in the match against Rayo Vallecano on Sunday, playing 45 minutes. Still, a lot of speculations circulated regarding his desire to leave Man Utd to play in the Champions League this season.

"The biggest thing for me is, if you're Man United, where are you going to find 20 goals?" Ferdinand also told in an exclusive interview with FootballJOE on YouTube. "If you let Cristiano Ronaldo go now, where are the 20 goals coming from? Unless you believe in Martial, Rashford and Sancho to fill that void. If he [Ten Hag] thinks that, and he feels comfortable doing that, Cristiano probably goes to another team. The fact that Cristiano's not been allowed to go anywhere says to me they want him back in the building, because they know he's going to get them 20 goals this season."

United will have a game against Brighton on Sunday before a trip to Brentford. Meanwhile, on Aug. 22, Red Devils is scheduled for an intense match against rivals Liverpool before they close out the month by traveling to Southampton.

File photo of Rio Ferdinand and Cristiano Ronaldo
Manchester United captain Rio Ferdinand (R) and Portuguese winger Cristiano Ronaldo share a joke during a press conference at the Olympic stadium in Rome on May 26, 2009 on the eve of the Champions League final between Barcelona and Manchester United. It promises to be a battle royal between two teams at the peak of their powers and includes a sub-battle between arguably the world's best two attacking players who can terrorise defences on their day. Photo by Lluis Gene/AFP via Getty Images
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