With the FIFA World Cup around the corner, all the national teams have begun assembling with the mega event kicking off on Sunday, November 15, in Qatar. And grabbing all the headlines before the tournament is none other than Portugal striker Cristiano Ronaldo, who gave an explosive interview to British journalist Piers Morgan where he has taken apart his club, current manager and former teammates.
In the interview, Ronaldo slammed the hierarchy of Manchester United, including the manager Erik ten Hag and also opened up on how he has been treated off late. And after the interview, many fans are wondering about the equation that Ronaldo will share with his Portuguese teammate from Manchester United, namely Diego Dalot and Bruno Fernandes.
In a recent video posted by Selecao Portugal on Twitter, the awkwardness between the two stars is quite evident. Fernandes is seen entering the dressing room, and then putting his arm on Ronaldo as he walked past him to put his bag down. Ronaldo then offers his hand for a handshake. Fernandes hesitated at first, and then greeted Ronaldo. There was something said between the two, and quickly Fernandes turned to greet the other teammates.
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In the interview, Ronaldo alleged some members of the higher-ups at Manchester United did not believe his reasoning for missing pre-season when his daughter was in the hospital. The five-time Ballon d'Or winner insisted Alex Ferguson convinced him to re-sign at Old Trafford but suggested 'zero progress' has been made since the legendary Scot left in 2013.
"I spoke with the director and the president of Man Utd and they kind of didn't believe that something was going wrong, which made me feel bad," the Portugal captain said.
Asked whether he felt he was being forced out of Old Trafford, Ronaldo told Piers Morgan uncensored: "Yes, not only by the coach, but by another two or three guys around the club that I felt betrayed me.
"I shouldn't say that [they were trying to get rid of me], I don't know, but yes, I feel betrayed. I felt that some people didn't want me here not only this year, but last year too."
Ten Hag has preferred to hand opportunities to the likes of Marcus Rashford, Anthony Martial and Anthony Elanga in United's attack this season, and has only started Ronaldo in four league games. Last month, Ten Hag said he opted against bringing Ronaldo on in a 6-3 defeat to rivals Manchester City "out of respect", while the Portugal forward was visibly irritated by the Dutchman's decision to substitute him against Newcastle United two weeks later.
Asked about his relationship with Ten Hag, Ronaldo added, "I don't have respect for him because he doesn't show respect for me. If you don't have respect for me, I'm never going to have respect for you."
(With Opta inputs)
