Cristiano Ronaldo has said an awful lot about Manchester United over the past few days during what will go down as one of the most controversial weeks in his career.
Amidst all the noise generated from his bombshell interview with Piers Morgan, it is clear that Ronaldo still has an endless amount of respect for former boss Sir Alex Ferguson. The Scot persuaded him to ditch a move to Manchester City in favour of an Old Trafford homecoming last year, and has been given glowing references from United's No.7 on a number of occasions.
Ronaldo also claimed that Sir Alex “knows” that United are not currently on the right path. During his explosive interview with Piers Morgan on TalkTV, he said: “He [Sir Alex] knows that, he knows better than nobody that the club is not on the path they deserve to be. He knows. Everyone knows.”
Whether Sir Alex does or not, the United dugout icon produced several lines over his illustrious career which differ to several stances held by Ronaldo.
Ronaldo has complained about a lack of “respect” from Erik ten Hag, who suspended him after he refused to come on against Tottenham. “I'm not that kind of player. I know what I can give to the teams,” he attempted to justify in the interview.
The fact is, Ten Hag’s rebuild project will continue on with or without him and Ronaldo will be used by his boss how he sees fit, which may not align with his own views. United are moving forward and it seems Ronaldo doesn’t like that he’s not the one driving the bus.
Ten Hag was praised for his reprimand of Ronaldo, although the superstar felt as though the three days’ exclusion “was a lot”.
But a lack of order is what caused United’s downfall last season and most fans agree that the standard Ten Hag has set since his arrival is what has been needed at the club to restore their elite status.
United were not losing and Ronaldo still stormed off down the tunnel against Tottenham - something he has since apologised for. But as seen too many times this season, with the interview itself also being evidence, his reaction when proceedings don’t go his way is tarnishing his status as a leader.
Ronaldo was unafraid to go after United’s young players, claiming they “don’t care” about succeeding, or at least not as much as his own generation. He ruled Diogo Dalot out of this equation but the likes of Alejandro Garnacho and Jadon Sancho may have felt burnt by his comments.
Garnacho, Zidane Iqbal and co. are the future for the club and are the ones who will make the difference in United producing that longevity Ronaldo predicted none of them would have.
While Ronaldo said advice goes in one ear and out the other with youngsters at United, Sir Alex saw it another way. To be fair to the former, he has hardly spoken out this season, but maybe now his outbursts have tipped the balance between speaking and listening in the wrong direction.
Attaining the right attitude and pulling in the same, unified direction is paramount if United are to be successful in their rebuild. Ronaldo’s early exits, first in pre-season against Rayo Vallecano and then against Tottenham, showed the exact opposite. As does this week's interview.