Piers Morgan says Cristiano Ronaldo is "very happy with the way things have all played out" following the release of the Manchester United star's interview with the former Good Morning Britain host.
Amid his struggles at United this season, Ronaldo sat down for a lengthy chat with Morgan. The interview has been split into two parts, with the first shown on Wednesday night and the second part being aired on Thursday.
A whole host of eyebrow-raising comments were made in the first part, including Ronaldo declaring he has no respect for United boss Erik ten Hag as well as criticising former teammates Gary Neville and Wayne Rooney. Despite the 37-year-old receiving plenty of criticism, Morgan says Ronaldo is "happy" with the interview.
Speaking to BBC Newsbeat, he said: "Cristiano is a smart guy. He's been at the top level of football for nearly 20 years. He doesn't do anything without giving it a lot of thought. He knew what he wanted to say and how he wanted to say it. He knew what the reaction would be.
"I spoke to him this morning and he's very happy with the way things have all played out."
Morgan has interviewed Ronaldo in the past and maintains a close relationship with the United star. He added: "Quite recently, he contacted me to say he wanted to do a big interview.
"He wanted to set the record straight, because for most of this year, he's been on the receiving end of really, I think, a ridiculously overblown amount of criticism, blaming him for all the problems at United."
Lisandromart
18
There is no reason for the hate Cr7 just gave us an insight about how things are instead of criticizing him we should see it as more reason to remove the glazers
Football⚽/Fan
8
Without Ronaldo: Man United with Ole 2020-21: 2nd place, 74 points. With Ronaldo: Man United sacked Ole 2021-22: 6th place, 58 points. Context: They clearly are improving right now, and he’s the only one who’s causing distractions while they are improving. Ten Hag deserves a medal for making United competitive this season while having to put up with Ronaldo and all this. We’ve only seen the viral clips of his whinges. Imagine dealing with that every day at work.