Robbie Fowler sympathises with Cristiano Ronaldo's exile

Liverpool legend Robbie Fowler has drawn comparisons between his own Anfield exit and Cristiano Ronaldo's current turbulent tenure at Manchester United that has seen the Portuguese thrown into the limelight for all the wrong reasons.

Fowler's sensational goalscoring feats for Liverpool has made him arguably the Merseyside club's greatest ever striker - scoring 187 goals for the Reds during two spells between 1993 and 2006.

His first stint at his boyhood club ended in 2001 after the emergence of Michael Owen saw Fowler's playing time reduced with then-Liverpool boss Gérard Houllier favouring a strike partnership of Owen and Emile Heskey.

An aggrieved Fowler showed himself the exit door as he made an £11million switch to join Leeds United.

Lifting the UEFA cup, FA Cup, and League Cup with Liverpool, Fowler had developed a winners mentality, similar to that of Man United's Ronaldo.

The United striker is disappointed with his lack of game time as manager Erik ten Hag opts to use Marcus Rashford as the team's focal point in attack. His disapointment eventually boiled over as he stormed off down the Old Trafford tunnel early in United's recent win over Tottenham.

Ronaldo subsequently was dropped from the first-team, missing the Premier League trip to Chelsea, before returning to score against Sheriff in United's 3-0 Europa League win on Thursday.

Fowler admitted he understood how Ronaldo must be feeling and advised the 37-year-old five-times Champions League winner to leave Manchester in January if he wants to become a regular starter again.

'I have been in this situation where I believed, without being egotistical, I was the best striker but for whatever reason, managers pick a team without you in it,' said Fowler in The Mirror.

'As a player, it is hard to get your head around that you aren't the first player being picked for the team. But what do you do?

'You go out there and perform at training and do everything you need to do, but it doesn't really matter, managers still might have certain players that they want to play and it's hard to accept that.

'That's why I left Liverpool for Leeds. I felt for me and my game, as much as I love Liverpool, I needed to play football.

'I felt I was forced out of the club by not playing but I needed to go and play for my own sanity.'

'It is quite clear that Ronaldo doesn't fit into that plan, so the best concern for all parties is if he goes. The simple answer I can give you. He is a great player but if he wants to play close to 90 minutes then he has got to go.'

Manchester United host West Ham at Old Trafford on Sunday with Ten Hag expected to drop Ronaldo to the bench for the Premier League encounter with victory capable of pushing them into the top four.