Owen Hargreaves, a former Bayern Munich midfielder, has admitted that when people criticise Cristiano Ronaldo, he laughs to himself.
Those who claim that the Portuguese are the problem have been lambasted by the former England player. In the Manchester United team, he added that United would not be where they are now if it weren't for Ronaldo.
On Saturday, Cristiano Ronaldo scored a hat-trick to help Manchester United rise to fifth position in the Premier League table.
The Portuguese superstar struck twice in the first 32 minutes, but two goals from the visitors either side of halftime set up a tight finish.
With 14 minutes remaining, the five-time Ballon d'Or winner stepped up to take a free-kick and rifled it past Tim Krul to secure all three points for Ralf Rangnick's side.
After the game, Owen told Premier League Productions, "I was simply laughing to myself when people criticise Cristiano Ronaldo and say he's the problem."
"How is he the issue?" says the narrator. He's one of the few reasons they're still alive.
"David De Gea has been named their player of the season, with Cristiano Ronaldo coming in second." Today, not many people performed well, but Cristiano did.
"That game could've been anything, but we all know Ronaldo gets the job done." And he deserves credit for it. He's just proven that he's a force to be reckoned with in critical times."