Cristiano Ronaldo's former Manchester United teammate believes the club should not let him leave this summer despite his poor recent form

• Cristiano Ronaldo has been rumored to be leaving Manchester United this summer.
• But his former teammate Wes Brown believes United should keep hold of him despite his mixed form.

Cristiano Ronaldo should stay at Manchester United next season.

That's according to the Portuguese star's former United teammate Wes Brown, who believes the striker remains a "great asset" to the club despite his poor recent form.

Ronaldo enjoyed a fine start to his second spell at Old Trafford after switching from Juventus in the summer, scoring nine goals in his first 11 games.

However, since the turn of the year, the 37-year-old has managed just one goal in all competitions, leading to rumors he could leave United in the summer.

Paris Saint Germain, MLS team Inter Miami, and Ronaldo's boyhood club Sporting Lisbon are among those reported to be interested in securing his signature.

But Brown, who won three Premier Leagues playing alongside Ronaldo for United between 2003 and 2009, believes the club would be wrong to let him leave at the end of the season.

"Personally, I was glad to see him come back to United," Brown told Insider. "Yes, he is an older player now, so he plays a lot different to when United first had him. He was a lot more attacking, running at players, taking players on, whereas now he's more of a goal scorer.

"We've not had the best of seasons in general and that's every player, and I think when the team has dipped a little bit, he's suffered as well.

"But that's football, and Ronaldo will possibly go down as, if not the greatest, one or two, either him or Messi, to ever play the game, if you look at how many they've scored, the games they've played and what they've won.

"He's a great asset to Manchester United, and hopefully, we don't know what's going to happen next season, but hopefully, he tries to continue that."

Brown added that he believes Ronaldo has unjustly been a scapegoat for United this season when the team is playing poorly because of his superstar status.

"He's so famous, and in the football world, people are probably expecting really stupid outrageous things for him to be doing on the pitch, especially at his age," he said.

"He is a superstar, and people will always expect him to come up trumps every game, but it's not just going to be like that.

"In general, I still think he's had a good season, he's still scored goals, yes form has dipped, but you can say that about most of the players on the team."

United next plays Tottenham Hotspur on Saturday at Old Trafford, where victory will see Ralf Rangnick's side move to fourth in the Premier League table.

Insider's interview with Wes Brown was facilitated by Marriott Bonvoy, Marriott International's award-winning travel program, as part of the launch of its Manchester United Suite of Dreams competition.