Manchester United striker Cristiano Ronaldo may have finally burned the bridge between him and his current club.
Ronaldo sat down for a 90-minute TV interview with host Piers Morgan for his show, "Piers Morgan Uncensored." The interview is by far the most explosive interview Ronaldo has ever given, the Sun reported.
In the interview, Ronaldo said he felt “betrayed” by the way he was treated by the franchise. Moreover, he was annoyed that he was made a “black sheep” who was blamed for everything that has gone wrong with the team. He believes he is now being actively forced out of the club.
Eric Ten Hag, the current manager of the club, reportedly suspended Ronaldo last month for refusing to come on as a last-minute substitute against Tottenham.
"I don’t have respect for him because he doesn’t show respect for me," said Ronaldo. "If you don’t have respect for me, I’m never gonna have respect for you."
“If you’re not even a coach, how are you going to be the boss of Manchester United? I’d never even heard of him,” Ronaldo raised his doubt regarding Ralf Rangnick, who had spent just two years of the last decade as a manager.
Ronaldo's former teammate Wayne Rooney had publicly attacked Ronaldo for months and urged United to get rid of him, the Daily Telegraph reported.
“I don’t know why he criticizes me so badly . . . probably because he finished his career and I’m still playing at a high level,” Ronaldo said.
Ronaldo then chuckled and added that “I’m not going to say that I’m looking better than him. Which is true . . . ”
He also talked about the lack of improvements to training facilities, from the pool, gym and kitchen (nutrition and diet), and to technology that Manchester United had to offer.
“The progress was zero,” he sighed. “Since Sir Alex left, I saw no evolution in the club. Nothing had changed.”
Despite everything that transpired, Ronaldo still wants the best for Manchester United. However, he feels things are not being done correctly at Old Trafford.
“I think the fans should know the truth. I want the best for the club. This is why I come to Manchester United," he said. "But you have some things inside that don’t help (us) reach the top level as City, Liverpool and even now Arsenal . . . a club with this dimension should be top of the tree in my opinion and they are not, unfortunately."
He also accused the club of showing a lack of “empathy”, especially when his three-month-old daughter was hospitalized in July. When Ronaldo said he could not return on time for pre-season training because he wanted to stay with her, senior executives at Old Trafford even doubted him, making him feel “hurt” and “bad”.
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