Cristiano Ronaldo launched a scathing attack on Manchester United manager Erik Ten Hag and a few others in the establishment in a recent interview with British journalist Piers Morgan for TalkTV.
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A few bits
of the interview were aired on Piers Morgan uncensored which showed Ronaldo’s perspective
on several controversial issues of the recent past. Speaking about the club, Ronaldo hit hard on the lack of growth since he left in 2009. “The
progress was zero. Since Sir Alex left (2013), I saw no evolution in the club.
Nothing has changed. He (Sir Alex Ferguson) knows better than anybody that the
club is not on the path that it deserves to be”, said Ronaldo.
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Ronaldo joined Manchester United in 2003 and was groomed by Sir Alex Ferguson. After a highly successful stint, he left United in 2009 at the peak of his career, having just won the Ballon d’Or and FIFA World Player of the Year. Since then, Ronaldo’s career has taken off, with him winning four more Ballon d’Or awards while at Real Madrid. Contrastingly, United won its last Premier League title in 2013, when Fergusson decided to retire as the manager. Ronaldo returned to his old club in 2021, and since then he has not been on the same page with the management on a number of issues.
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On July 31, 2022, in United’s pre-season friendly match against Rayo Vallencano (1-1), Ronaldo walked off the field before full-time. This rare action was termed “unacceptable” by United manager Erik Ten Hag. This was followed by the heavyweight clash between Manchester United and Manchester City on October 2. Despite United trailing 0-4, Ten Hag failed to call Ronaldo from the bench, a decision he later justified by saying, “I didn’t bring him on out of respect for his big career.” Later on October 19, in the match against Tottenham Hotspur, Ronaldo declined to come in as a substitute. Ronaldo was suspended from the team for his actions and was dropped from the match against Chelsea.
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Speaking on
Manager Ten Hag, “I don’t have respect for him because he doesn’t show respect
for me. If you don’t have respect for me, I am never gonna respect you,” said
Ronaldo. He further added that he felt betrayed as some people in the club did not
want him in, both this year and the previous one. Ronaldo’s scathing attack on
the club and the manager has not gone down well with the club.