Cristiano Ronaldo could replace Ole Gunnar Solskjaer as Manchester United manager within the next 18 months.
The 36-year-old appeared to coach his teammates from the touchline during last week's Champions League defeat to Young Boys.
Solskjaer played down Ronaldo's technical area foray, but Tim Sherwood believes it is a sign of things to come and is predicting the 36-year-old forward will replace the Norwegian in the not-so-distant future.
Speaking exclusively to Ladbrokes at its launch of the 5-A-Side bet on Arsenal v Spurs, Sherwood said:
“That boy will be a manager 100%. I would have a bet on him being Manchester United manager in 18 months.”
Sherwood believes Solskjaer's future could hinge on whether or not he wins a trophy this season. If he doesn't, then the former Spurs and Aston Villa boss says it will be curtains for the United chief.
“Whenever Ronaldo finishes playing I think he will become a manager, it will be an automatic choice,” Sherwood added.
“If they win the Premier League, Champions League, FA Cup, any of those trophies, then Solskjaer keeps his job, but if they don’t win anything I think they’ve got a manager there in the making.
“He’s almost coaching now; you saw it at the weekend during the warm-up whispering in Varane’s and Maguire's ears, but I don’t think it’s that he needs the captain’s armband to be a leader, he leads by example anyway.”
This article was most recently revised and updated 3 years ago
