Zlatan Ibrahimovic claims 'true story' of Cristiano Ronaldo's Manchester United exit will never be known

Zlatan Ibrahimovic has insisted that supporters will never know the 'true story' behind Cristiano Ronaldo's exit from Manchester United.

The Reds parted company with Ronaldo after his controversial interview with Piers Morgan last month, with the 37-year-old having criticised the club's owners, his then manager Erik ten Hag and a number of his former teammates. The veteran frontman also claimed that United had 'betrayed' him.

However, Ten Hag recently responded to the Portuguese star's comments - stating that Ronaldo had never actually told him to his face that he wanted to leave Old Trafford.

While Ronaldo and Ten Hag have both spoken publicly about the situation, Ibrahimovic believes that the 'true story' will never be heard. He also claimed that he would have 'told you how it really happened' if it had been him.

"His exiting United, I think when things happen, we will never know the true story," Ibrahimovic told reporters in Dubai. "They say what they want to say, he says what he needs to say to protect himself, then you have the coach that says these things to protect himself.

"Then the club says things – not like me, I will tell you how it really happened. But we are all different. Everybody is careful about their image. For me the perfect image is being yourself. The true story we will not know my friend."

Ronaldo, who has been linked with a move to Saudi Arabia side Al Nassr following his departure from United, left the field in tears as Portugal exited the World Cup at the quarter-final stage after losing to Morocco.

The 37-year-old was dropped to the bench for the final two matches in Qatar, and Ibrahimovic does not blame Ronaldo for getting 'emotional' in what is likely to be his last World Cup.

The AC Milan star added: "Everybody wants to win the World Cup; not everybody gets to win the World Cup.

"Everybody is trying and if you don’t win it obviously you’ll get emotional, if you win it, you get also emotional in a different way."

Ronaldo had managed just three goals in 16 appearances for United prior to his Old Trafford exit, with the veteran forward only starting on 10 occasions.