Cristiano Ronaldo, according to Ralf Rangnick, has the potential to become one of the leaders of the Manchester United squad in their quest for a successful season finale.
Ronaldo scored a superb hat-trick in Real Madrid's 3-2 win over Tottenham to bring his club tally for the season to 18 goals in 31 games, putting an end to a run of just one goal in ten games.

The 37-year-place old's in the team had been called into question by some members of the squad, with Rangnick reportedly having reservations about Ronaldo's future at United beyond this season. In addition, some analysts speculated about the severity of Ronaldo's hip flexor injury, which prevented him from participating in the 4-1 thrashing by Manchester City eight days ago.

Ronaldo scored six Premier League goals to help United win their Champions League group and he contributed 10 points to that total. Against Atletico Madrid in the second leg of the Champions League round-of-16 tie, Ronaldo is almost certain to start. He has scored hat-tricks against the Spanish champions in the Champions League with Real Madrid and Juventus.

In addition, Rangnick stated, "I believe the entire team put forth a strong performance today." Although he (Ronaldo) made a big difference, it's not the right time to speculate about what might happen in the next 15-16 months." What matters to me is what happens in the next three months, specifically in the two months leading up to the end of May.

"Everyone at this club, including the fans, players, and members of the coaching staff, wants to be a part of the Champions League season that begins on Tuesday. We want to advance to the next round and the quarter-finals of the tournament. His importance to the team cannot be overstated; his reputation, combined with the way he can still play, ensures that he has significant influence over the group. However, there are other players on the team who must take responsibility, who must perform, and who have the potential to be team leaders.

"His performance today demonstrates his ability to be a leader.. This is exactly what I've been telling him since I first met him: that with a performance like today, he has the potential to be one of the team's engines. There are several other players, including Fred, Harry [Maguire], Rapha [Varane], and Victor [Lindelof], who are capable of doing the same thing, as well as others.

Edi [Cavani], who came on in the final 10 or 15 minutes, demonstrated how important he is to the team as well as what kind of role he can still play for them. For the sake of the team, I hope he'll be available for as long as possible. It was a huge disappointment, and it was also detrimental to our team, that he was unavailable for the last six weeks."

In his 14-week tenure as manager of United, Rangnick has noted that the club has been subjected to unprecedented levels of coverage and scrutiny, comparing the fallout from the derby defeat to a 'funeral.' The German was asked if Manchester United fans should be optimistic about their team's chances of winning the Champions League as they attempt to reach the quarter-finals for the third time in the last ten years.
"This is something else that I enjoy about this club," Rangnick added. Sunday, I had the impression that we were at a funeral, that it was already dead and the end of the decade or whatever, and that this was the worst team I'd ever coached.

"In addition, following our 3-2 victory over Tottenham, we're debating our chances of winning the Champions League. Please ask that question again if we reach the final of the Champions League. If we do not reach the final, please do not ask that question again. For the time being, I don't believe it makes any sense."