Category: Cristiano Ronaldo

The saddest aspect of Cristiano Ronaldo’s interview with Piers Morgan was that so much of it was so accurate. He correctly identified that Manchester United has not evolved much since he left, that the club has been undermined by terrible decision-making. When historians of the future come to write of United’s post-Ferguson struggles, the transcript will provide a very useful precis. But in his diagnosis there is a blind spot: the worst decision United have made since 2013 was to re-sign him.

This, perhaps, is the tragedy of the great sportsman. Ronaldo may be a preening narcissist, and ego of such overwhelming gravity that he inevitably dominates any club for whom he plays, but he has also been one of the greatest footballers of all time and is all the more remarkable for having made himself so. The comparison with Lionel Messi is hackneyed but irresistible. Messi has often seemed almost diffident, as though a great talent acts through him and he a semi‑willing conduit. Ronaldo has, with tremendous single‑mindedness and strength of will, worked and worked to transform his ability into something extraordinary.

His dedication to self‑improvement made him great, but it is that same self‑absorption that makes him at times such a difficult teammate, that same self-belief that perhaps prevents him realising the extent to which his powers have waned.

And that, of course, is why he has been so outraged by what seem to him inexplicable snubs such as being left on the bench against Tottenham. It’s not that his form has dwindled. It couldn’t possibly be that it is best for the team if he is a substitute. It could only be that Erik ten Hag disrespects him.

But alongside that bristling self-assertion, underlying it, perhaps even provoking it, there is something else: insecurity. In Josh Robinson and Jonathan Clegg’s book Messi vs Ronaldo, there is a fascinating detail about Ronaldo, at the height of his Real Madrid fame, meeting a physio who had worked with him when he was in his teens at Sporting and handing him a printout of all his awards, as though he felt a need to justify himself and what he had done with his talent. In that, perhaps, there is still a glimpse of the weedy kid from a difficult background in Madeira, an outsider who was mocked for his provincial accent when he arrived in Lisbon. There is a vulnerability to his genius.

In practical terms, it makes little difference what has created this ego. Even in his first spell at United when he won three league titles and a Champions League, his reluctance to fulfil his defensive responsibilities meant that, in European games, he would be deployed at centre‑forward with Wayne Rooney moved to the left because he could be trusted to track his full-back.

Ronaldo was a brilliantly skilful player, but his desperation to be centre-stage created issues. He scored the equaliser when United beat Chelsea in the Champions League final in Moscow with the sort of header that would become a trademark but then, having missed a penalty in the shootout, he stood crying by himself on the halfway line as his teammates celebrated Edwin van der Sar’s decisive save from Nicolas Anelka in front of the United fans.

In that, perhaps, there was an echo of George Best, who was so disappointed by his ownperformance when United beat Benfica to win the European Cup in 1968 that he left the celebrations and, by his own account, got properly drunk for the first time. And, as with Best, United need to break their obsession with a brilliant number seven who is no longer what he was.

Ronaldo’s demons are different, but he was never a team man. That has always been the doubt, particularly as pressing became increasingly important. He won four Champions Leagues with Real Madrid and had a happy knack of scoring not just lots of goals but also decisive goals. But there was a reason Madrid were prepared to let him go. And so began a pattern that has defined his last five seasons. In three seasons at Juventus, Ronaldo scored 81 league goals, but the team got worse, and never scored as many in a single season as they had the year before he arrived.

At United it was similar. There were those who celebrated the 18 league goals he scored last season as a remarkable effort in a failing team, the only bulwark between United and humiliation, but the fact is rather that he was the antidote to a problem he caused. In 2020-21, without Ronaldo, United had a clearly defined if basic system, sitting deep and attacking at pace on the break and finished second, scoring 73 goals and totalling 74 points; the following season, with Ronaldo, that fluency was lost and they finished sixth, scoring 57 goals and totalling 58 points.

Ten Hag is a hard-pressing coach. His appointment at United meant that either he was going to undermined by Ronaldo or he was going to get rid of him, and it ended up being the latter. Ten Hag has been steely enough to do things his way, to cut through the celebrity fug that always surrounds Ronaldo. And, frankly, with his repeated strops, Ronaldo has made his task easier. There are very few now among regular match-goers who still think he should be in the side. This season, United have averaged 1.0 points per game in league matches he has started; 2.2 without him.

Ronaldo’s return was an extremely costly error, undermining not one but two coaches and apparently diminishing the confidence of a number of young players. In his solipsism, though, that seems not to concern him: there is Ronaldo and his quest for records and goals, and there is everybody else.

United fans should remember how Ronaldo was the first time round, should celebrate what he was, but his return has been a failure. Chasing past glories, yielding to the siren call of nostalgia, is rarely a successful way to run a football club. United have accepted Ronaldo is done; it may be that he soon has to accept that too.

Cristiano Ronaldo is leaving Manchester United by mutual agreement with immediate effect, the club have announced. The move comes after the forward made a series of damning allegations in an interview.

United had appointed lawyers to explore potential action against Ronaldo for alleged breach of contract but their preferred option was to engineer his departure and that was confirmed on Tuesday.

“Cristiano Ronaldo is to leave Manchester United by mutual agreement, with immediate effect,” the club said. “The club thanks him for his immense contribution across two spells at Old Trafford.”

Ronaldo’s allegations included that he is being forced out by the club, that senior executives lacked empathy after his newborn son died in April, that the owners, the Glazer family, do not care about the club, and that the manager, Erik ten Hag, does not respect him.

“Following conversations with Manchester United we have mutually agreed to end our contract early,” Ronaldo said. “I love Manchester United and I love the fans, that will never ever change. However, it feels like the right time for me to seek a new challenge.”

The 37-year-old had been instructed not to return to the club’s Carrington training base after his World Cup participation with Portugal. On Monday at a press conference in Qatar he described himself as “bullet proof” and expressed no regret at his behaviour. “I don’t have to worry what others think,” he said. “I talk when I want to.”

With United intent on being rid of Ronaldo and the player wanting to leave the question was how – and how swiftly – his departure would unfold. The episode, and two instances since the summer of Ronaldo leaving Old Trafford early, bring an inglorious end to his United career.

Ronaldo had a supremely successful six years at the club that ended in 2009 and his return in summer 2021 was greeted ecstatically by supporters.

Cristiano Ronaldo felt Manchester United had ‘cut his legs’ and did not want him to “shine” or listen to advice as his relationship with the club deteriorated.

The Portugal forward claimed United were trying to force him out and criticised manager Erik ten Hag while also saying the club’s owners, the Glazer family, do not care about the club.

The five-time Ballon d’Or winner told TalkTV he did not respect Ten Hag, who took over at Old Trafford in the summer, and claimed a number of individuals at United were trying to push him to leave.

In Thursday night’s second instalment of the full interview on Piers Morgan Uncensored, Ronaldo gave further details of how he felt he had been “betrayed” as his return to United went sour.

“When I arrived at Manchester United, I always be available to help the team to do the good things, to put in the right spots, to compete with the best teams,” Ronaldo said.

“But it’s hard when they cut your legs and they don’t like you to shine and they don’t listen to your advice. I think I have words to advise to the club. I think I can help a lot, but when the infrastructure is not good …”

Amid speculation over whether he would be departing United over the summer, Ronaldo and other players left a pre-season friendly against Rayo Vallecano before full-time – something new boss Ten Hag had labelled “unacceptable”.

In October, Ronaldo was a substitute for the 2-0 win over Tottenham and later walked off the bench before leaving the stadium, with Ten Hag saying the 37-year-old had refused to come on during the closing stages.

Ronaldo did not feature for the next Premier League match against Chelsea.

“I think it was a strategy from the club for me to react that way,” said Ronaldo, who is currently on World Cup duty with Portugal. “I was very, very, very, very disappointed for the communication of Manchester United. To be honest, I never had a problem with any club, with any coach. And they suspend me three days, which I felt was a lot – and the level of sport, clubs, I felt a lot. It was a shame.”

Ronaldo, though, did regret leaving the stadium early.

“It’s difficult to tell you 100%, but let’s say I regret (it), but in the same way I felt provoked by the coach,” he said. “Not allowed for me, a coach to put me in three minutes in a game. Sorry, I’m not that kind of player. I know what I can give to teams.”

The former United team-mate Gary Neville had also been criticised by Ronaldo during his interview. Neville said on Thursday that United should cancel Ronaldo’s contract in the next few days.

Reflecting on his future, Ronaldo continued: “It is hard for me to say that I will not be back to Manchester United, but regardless, as you say, let’s see what’s going to happen. But as I told you before, the fans for me always will be on my side, will be always in my heart.

“I see during the days when I go to the streets, the love, the passion, that people have for me, the respect. I hope that they never forget the things that I will continue to do, not only in the past, but in the present too.

“Manchester will be always on my side, the fans will be always on my side; doesn’t matter what’s going to happen, and I appreciate the love that they send for me all the time.

“Even when I’m done play(ing), even when they criticise me, they always will be in my heart, so thank you to all the support. I hope to see you soon, and they always will be in my heart.”