Cristiano Ronaldo is not the reason Tom Brady returned to the NFL after a brief 40-day retirement earlier this season, the Manchester United star told Piers Morgan in an exclusive interview.
Ronaldo and Brady were seen chitchatting on the Old Trafford pitch at a March 12 match, one day before the seven-time Super Bowl champion announced he'd be returning to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers for a 23rd NFL season at age 45.
There has been speculation that being in the presence of an aging superstar, like Ronaldo, persuaded Brady to play another season. The 37-year-old Ronaldo, however, denies weighing in on the matter.
'Whatever you said to him, the next day, he comes out of retirement,' Morgan, a self-professed die-hard Ronaldo fan, told the Portuguese star.
'Psychology, see,' Ronaldo joked. 'I'm a good psychologist.'
Ronaldo then switched gears, denying any responsibility for Brady's decision.
'I think he had taken the decision a few weeks before that,' Ronaldo said. 'He's a very smart guy who knows a lot about football [soccer], we had a nice conversation. I don't think that had anything to do with it, though.'
Not only did their meeting come at a significant moment in Brady's life, but Ronaldo's as well.
The Manchester United star recorded his 49th career hat trick in club soccer and became the all-time leading goal scorer in FIFA history during that March 12 victory over Tottenham.
'It gave me good energy,' Ronaldo said of the meeting.
'When you have another G.O.A.T. in the stadium,' Morgan said, interrupting Ronaldo with the anagram for 'Greatest of All Time.'
'Does that fire you up?' Morgan continued. 'It's a G.O.A.T. thing, right?'
'Yes,' Ronaldo agreed. 'It's energies. It's all about energy. When you have good energy around you, I can [do] interesting things.'
Both Brady and Ronaldo could use some better energy this season.
Two years removed from their last Super Bowl title, the Bucs are just 5-5 as Brady's quarterback rating has dipped to 91.9 amid his divorce from Gisele Bundchen. Brady's career QB rating is 97.4, and was better than 102 in his first two seasons with Tampa Bay.
Ronaldo, meanwhile, has just one goal in 10 matches for Manchester United, where manager Erik ten Hag has benched the soccer legend.
