Manchester City legend Shaun Goater thinks the Sky Blues 'tricked' Manchester United into signing Cristiano Ronaldo.

City were reportedly targeting the 37-year-old before United swooped to secure his signature.

While Ronaldo has scored 18 goals this season, United as a whole have regressed and look set to miss out on a top-four finish.

Speaking to Ladbrokes, via Metro, Goater said: "I've got to be honest, I never thought Cristiano Ronaldo's return was going to be a great thing for Manchester United.

"I knew he'd score goals, but I also knew that he'd take away from the shine of the future, and the youngsters they have. I didn't think the rest of the team would score goals as a direct result of him signing; someone was going to suffer.

"That balance had to work, and I don't think it has. If Ronaldo was told 'look, use your experience, you're obviously a key player and you're going to have plenty of game-time, but a key part of this project is these young players coming through', then it might have been a different story.

"But, as we can see, Marcus Rashford has gone off the boil, and I think it's because he's lost a lot of belief; he's just sort of been left to figure it out."

He continued: "When I saw that news break that he'd signed for them, as a Man City fan, I thought it was good for us. I don't think City were ever really going to sign Ronaldo. Pep's teams play the way they play because it's about the team, not about the individual – and so I truly don't think it would have ever worked.

"It could be a really smart chess move from City, who have already thought a few steps ahead, maybe with one eye on the next summer transfer window, and by forcing United's hand into signing Ronaldo, it's likely to be one less team who are going to go after a striker this summer."