MY ACCOUNT
Cristiano Ronaldo’s interview with Piers Morgan continues to generate controversy.
The Manchester United forward hit out at a host of different figures, from those in charge at the club to former team-mates with whom he enjoyed some of his finest moments.
His words may spell the end of his United career and have also seemingly cast a shadow over Portugal’s preparations for their World Cup campaign, with Ronaldo receiving an apparently frosty reception from club and country team-mate Bruno Fernandes when joining up with his national team.
Ronaldo looks to have burnt several bridges with his comments, and here Stats Perform looks at the most explosive comments from an interview that will live long in the memory.
United doubted daughter’s ill-health
One of the more specific claims Ronaldo made in the interview is that senior figures at United did not believe his reasoning for missing pre-season prior to the current campaign.
Ronaldo said he did not feature in pre-season because his daughter was in hospital, but alleged some at the club were sceptical of that explanation.
“I spoke with the director and the president of Man Utd and they kind of didn’t believe that something was going wrong, which made me feel bad,” the Portugal captain said.
When pressed to confirm senior United figures did not believe he was telling the truth, Ronaldo added: “They believe me but in the same way [shakes head]… And it is something that really hurt me because they doubted my word that I was struggling, especially Bella and Geo [Georgina Rodriguez, Ronaldo’s girlfriend].
“We had one week in hospital because Bella had a big problem and I didn’t go to the pre-season because of that. I didn’t want to leave my family to do the pre-season because I didn’t think it was fair to leave my family for a pre-season. This is why I didn’t go.”
Glazers don’t care
The Glazer family are not popular with the fans at Old Trafford, and the club’s ownership clearly also do not have a supporter in Ronaldo.
“The owners of the club, the Glazers, they don’t care about the club. The sports, they don’t really care in my opinion,” he said. “I’ve never spoken to them. They give all the power to the sporting director.
“The fans are always right, they should know the truth. The players, we want the best for the club, I want the best for the club, this is why I came back to Manchester United, it is why I love the club. But you have some things inside the club which don’t help you reach the top level like [Manchester] City, Liverpool, even now Arsenal, for example, which is difficult.
“It’s hard. In my opinion, it will be hard for United to be at the top of the game in the next two or three years.”
“I feel betrayed”
The narrative before the season was that Ronaldo was looking for a move away from Old Trafford.
Ronaldo, however, indicated the opposite is true. Asked whether he felt he was being forced out of Old Trafford, he said: “Yes, not only by the coach, but by another two or three guys around the club that I felt betrayed me.
“I shouldn’t say that [they were trying to get rid of me], I don’t know, but yes, I feel betrayed. I felt that some people didn’t want me here, not only this year but last year too.”
No respect for Ten Hag
Erik ten Hag insisted before the season that Ronaldo was not for sale, but has since started him in just four Premier League games.
Last month, Ten Hag said he opted against bringing Ronaldo on in a 6-3 defeat to rivals Manchester City “out of respect”, while the Portugal forward was visibly irritated by the Dutchman’s decision to substitute him against Newcastle United two weeks later.
Asked about his relationship with Ten Hag, Ronaldo added: “I don’t have respect for him because he doesn’t show respect for me. If you don’t have respect for me, I’m never going to have respect for you.”
They are not my friends
Ronaldo has been heavily criticised for his antics by former team-mates Wayne Rooney and Gary Neville, and he accused them of using his name to gain fame in their post playing careers.
“They are not my friends. I don’t know if they have a job on television where they must criticise me to become more famous, I really don’t understand,” he added.
“I think they take advantage of that because they’re not stupid. I have to carry on with my life with criticism or praise but it’s hard when you see people who were in the dressing room with you, criticising you in that way. I’m not going to lose sleep because they criticise but it’s not good to listen to that. It’s a little bit disappointing.”
Rooney criticism rooted in jealousy
There were further harsh words for Rooney, with Ronaldo suggesting his criticism is because he is jealous.
“I don’t know why he criticises me so badly,” said Ronaldo. “Probably because he finished his career and I’m still playing at a high level.
“I’m not going to say that I’m looking better than him – which is true…”
