Cristiano Ronaldo says he has been “betrayed” by several figures within Manchester United and that he has no respect for the club’s head coach Erik ten Hag in excerpts of an extended interview with Piers Morgan set to be released in the coming days.
The Portuguese forward, who turns 38 next year, has been a peripheral figure at Old Trafford in recent months as he struggled with a loss of form which has seen him score just one league goal in ten appearances in what is the veteran’s worst domestic return up to this point of a season in his career.
He has also seen his influence dwindle throughout the opening months of ten Hag’s tenure, with the Dutchman generally preferring the likes of Anthony Martial and Marcus Rashford as the primary focus of Manchester United’s forward line – a situation that Ronaldo told Morgan has led to him concluding that ten Hag is attempting to force him out of the club.
“Yes, not only the coach, but another two or three guys around the club. I felt betrayed,” Ronaldo said. “Yes, I feel betrayed, and I felt some people don’t want me here, not just this year, but last year too.”
Ronaldo’s loss of influence at Manchester United has come alongside several off-the-pitch scandals. Last month, he reportedly refused to come on as a substitute in a game against Tottenham Hotspur and left the stadium early. It was the second time in the span of a few months that he was disciplined for a similar breach of club etiquette.
He was also cautioned by police this year for slapping a phone out of the hands of a young Everton supporter, causing an injury to the youngster’s wrist.
But Ronaldo’s latest salvo against Manchester United represents the surest sign yet that his relationship with the club is irreparably damaged.
“I don’t have respect for him because he doesn’t show respect for me,” Ronaldo added of ten Hag. “If you don’t respect me, I’m never gonna have respect for you.
“I think the fans should know the truth,” Ronaldo continued. “I want the best for the club. This is why I came to Manchester United.
“But you have some things inside that don’t help [us] reach the top level as City, Liverpool and even now Arsenal... a club with this dimension should be top of the tree in my opinion and they are not, unfortunately.”
Ronaldo added that former boss Alex Ferguson, who remains a vocal supporter of the Portuguese, has never been adequately replaced at Old Trafford and that the club has been mired in quicksand ever since the Scottish manager’s retirement in 2013.
“The progress was zero since Alex [Ferguson] left, I saw no evolution in the club. Nothing had changed,” he said. “He knows better than anybody that the club is not on the path they deserve to be.
“He knows. Everyone knows. The people who don’t see that… it’s because they don’t want to see, they are blind.”
Despite his recent below-par form, Ronaldo has been consistently backed by a legion of former Manchester United players in the media, including the likes of Roy Keane and Rio Ferdinand – both former captains of the club.
Another former skipper, Wayne Rooney, is one prominent ex-Red Devil who has been critical of Ronaldo’s recent behavior, however, and this prompted a furious rebuke from Ronaldo.
“I don’t know why he criticizes me so badly,” he said of Rooney. “Probably because he finished his career and I’m still playing at a high level. I’m not going to say that I’m looking better than him, which is true.”
Manchester United, meanwhile, are understood to be “extremely disappointed” at the content of Ronaldo’s interview with Morgan, and were only made aware of it after their 2-1 win against Fulham on Sunday evening.
It was also reported that Ronaldo had been told that he would be on the substitutes’ bench for the game but he subsequently informed the club that he was ill and would not be attending the Premier League fixture.