Cristiano Ronaldo is expected to take over as Manchester United manager within the next 18 months according to some surprising claims. Ronaldo will be set to occupy the Old Trafford hot-seat relatively soon, according to the claims made by Tim Sherwood.

He predicts that the 36-year-old will take over as manager of the team when he leaves mainstream football as a player. It was evidenced to some extent by an event during Sunday’s 2-1 victory against West Ham.

“I believe it’s okay to see Ronaldo on the bench, and Ole will have to deal with it. You have to realize what it is that you’re getting in if he takes him to his club,” Sherwood told Ladbrokes. “It will be an entirely different Ronaldo than the one who last played for United at Old Trafford.”

According to Sherwood, Ronaldo understands his role. If he finds the need to stand next to the manager and convey guidance, nobody can dare stop him. That’s his presence on the field.

Tim added, ”I’m not convinced he’d do that if Jose Mourinho was still in control. Things would have been quite different, but you’d also have to ask Ronaldo why he feels the need to get up and give advice in the first place.”

“We’ve seen him do it before, most notably during the Euros when he was shouting instructions. That kid is destined to be a manager.”

He further added, ”I’d wager that he’ll be the manager of Manchester United in 18 months. I believe that after Ronaldo retires from playing, he will immediately become a manager.”

The former Tottenham manager went on to say that the present Man United manager, Ole Gunnar Solskjaer, would be just fine if the team wins a major title this season. If they don’t, Ronaldo will likely be replacing him as the next manager.

“If they win the Premier League, Champions League, FA Cup, or any of those trophies, Solskjaer will keep his job, but if they don’t, I believe they have a manager in the making.”

“He could bring an experienced coach in there with him – someone like Carlos Queiroz – as he’ll know plenty of them, and I can see him being a manager at Manchester United in the future.”