Cristiano Ronaldo, Marcus Rashford cannot be compared - Louis van Gaal

Manchester United manager Louis van Gaal refused to draw parallels between Marcus Rashford and Cristiano Ronaldo, saying it was like comparing "apples with pears."

United striker Rashford has scored six goals in 11 appearances since making his first-team debut against FC Midtjylland on Feb. 25.

That is the same amount of goals that Real Madrid's Ronaldo scored in his debut season for United, which was in 2003-04 when he played 40 games for Sir Alex Ferguson's men.

The manager had praise for Marcus Rashford, telling reporters: "It is fantastic what he has done so far." #mufc pic.twitter.com/Z2bneB0d3h

- Manchester United (@ManUtd) April 15, 2016

Speaking at his news conference on Friday, Van Gaal said: "You can compare apples with pears, so I don't agree with what you want to suggest. We have to wait and see.

"It is fantastic what Marcus has done so far, but you cannot compare him with Ronaldo, who also played in a different position. He was not a striker when he was at Manchester United, I believe."

The small size of United's squad -- particularly in terms of strikers -- has been questioned this season, but Van Gaal pointed out that it has allowed the likes of Rashford to break in.

"When you think you need a not too big squad, you leave the chance open for youngsters," he said. "Manchester United believe in youngsters and Louis van Gaal believes in youngsters.

"This was also one of the arguments as to why they have selected me, so it is not new for me that it is happening, but I'm very happy that we have the ability to pick up youngsters out of the academy."

Arindam is ESPN FC's Manchester United correspondent. Follow him @ARejSport