Manchester United have announced Cristiano Ronaldo as their player of the month for March.
In a month that saw Manchester United fall further behind in the chase for the top four, Ronaldo gained credit for his hat-trick against fellow Champions League chasers Tottenham Hotspur.
Having already picked up the Premier League's official goal of the month for his opening strike in that game, Ronaldo spoke of his delight at picking up his third such gong of the season, drawing level with David De Gea.
He told Manchester United's official website: 'Lovely. Thank you very much for these votes. I feel so happy and motivated for the rest of the season.'
He added: 'I will do my best like [I do] all the time so thank you to all of them and see you soon in Old Trafford. Thank you guys!'
Ronaldo's March otherwise proved to be a disappointing one, having not played in Manchester United's 4-1 loss to rivals Manchester City at the beginning of the month.
The Portuguese was part of the side that was defeated at home by Atletico Madrid in the last 16 of the Champions League.
Meanwhile, amid growing discussions about Ronaldo's ongoing suitability for Manchester United, his former teammate Wayne Rooney last night said that the club would be wise to move on from him this summer.
The Derby County manager told Monday Night Football: 'Obviously Cristiano is getting on a bit.'
'He’s certainly obviously not the player he was in his 20s and that happens, that’s football,' he added.
'He’s a goal threat but the rest of the game, they need more and they need young, hungry players.'
Asked about whether the five-time Ballon d'Or winner had been a success this season, Rooney responded: 'I’d say no at the minute. He’s scored goals, he’s scored important goals in the Champions League early on.
'He scored the hat-trick against Tottenham [last month] but I think if you’re looking to the future of the club I think you have to go with younger, hungry players to do the best to lift Manchester United over these next two to three years.'
panenka10
487
in the land of the blind the one eye is the king...
Tanabtu
385
I don't think
caybmnpty
346
Even his announce as premier league best player of the month his no playing in champion league next season 😏😏😏
rewbceimot
191
Brainless cr fans, have you ever wondered how Juve got to a position of getting out of top 4 from being serial winners with cr, how United went from being 2nd and on a progressive path to out of top 4? All because of playing for one man. These teams destroyed thier identity only for cr to run away next year in the name of challenge. Wait till after the world cup and watch him run very fast from United after taking thier years invested project.
KHMMURU07
91
"Siuuuuuuuuuuu"This man keeps getting MU Player of the Month yet those failed mangers who became pundits will always label Cr7 as a problem 😎."Level".