Cristiano Ronaldo is 'content' to let Harry Maguire be the vocal leader of the Manchester United dressing room after his outburst at half-time against Atalanta.
The forward intervened in Ole Gunnar Solskjaer's team talk during the break with United 2-0 down to the Italians as players argued among themselves.
But Ronaldo made it clear to his teammates that the first half showing was not up to the required standard as he tried to motivate his side ahead of the second period.
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It's claimed the forward asked his teammates ‘Are you not ashamed?’ before Solskjaer then took back control of the team talk as the Red Devils went out for the second half.
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Whatever was said, it certainly gave United an edge from that point on as they completed a dramatic 3-2 comeback with Ronaldo scoring a stoppage-time winner to give Solskjaer some breathing room.
And in the wake of Ronaldo's actions, Man Utd players have asked him to take up a 'bigger role' in the dressing room to strengthen the relationships between the players and the coaching staff, reports The Sun.
But the 36-year-old is happy for Maguire, who as captain is typically the authoritative voice in the changing room, to continue being the central mouthpiece.
Ronaldo does not want to be seen to be critical of Solskjaer who is under intense pressure at the moment.
The Old Trafford hierarchy are continuing to back their under-fire boss despite reports of agents approaching the club to propose suitable alternatives if he leaves.
Solskjaer's tactics are also in the spotlight as Bruno Fernandes followed on from Ronaldo's intervention at half-time against Atalanta with a request of his own.
The Portugal midfielder demanded the Man Utd boss change his position for the second half as he wanted to be in a deeper role so he could see more of the ball.
It seemed to do the trick as Fernandes found more space in the second half as he assisted Marcus Rashford's goal to make it 2-1.
But Fernandes' concerns about Solskjaer's tactics are reportedly shared by some of his teammates after a long list of questionable decisions this season.
A source told The Sun: “The message is not clear.
“There is confusion in the team, players don’t understand what the tactics are.
“There’s no team, it’s just individuals and there are big problems in the defence.”
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