Ronaldo accused United of betraying him – claiming the club tried to force him – and said he disrespected manager Erik ten Haag in the first clips released by TalkTV of a 90-minute interview with Piers Morgan. The Portugal captain also criticized former team-mate Wayne Rooney and United’s interim manager from last season, Ralf Rangnick, as he criticized the lack of progress at Old Trafford since Sir Alex Ferguson retired. Use Chrome browser for more accessible video player The Guardian’s Jamie Jackson believes Cristiano Ronaldo is ruining his legacy at Manchester United following his recent comments about the club. And now, in the latest set of teasers from his meeting with the TV presenter, the 37-year-old has claimed that two senior Old Trafford officials treated him with suspicion when he said his daughter Bella was ill with bronchitis. – just three months after the death of her twin brother. “I spoke to the manager and the chairman of Man Utd and they didn’t think anything was wrong, which made me feel bad,” Ronaldo told TalkTV. Asked to confirm that they didn’t believe him, Ronaldo continued: “They believe me but in the same way [shakes head]… I’m never going to trade my family’s health for a football. Now, or 10 years back or forward.
What happened in preparation?
Ronaldo did not turn up for pre-season training at Carrington on July 4 with the rest of the internationals citing family reasons, an explanation United said they accepted. It had emerged a few days earlier, on July 2, that Ronaldo wanted to leave Old Trafford. United were unclear if he would join the squad for the tour of Thailand and Australia on July 5 – three days before their departure. The club later confirmed on July 7 that they would not be joining Ten Haag and his squad on their tour and said Ronaldo had been given extra time off to attend to a family matter. Ronaldo has now clarified that his daughter, Bella, was in hospital with bronchitis. She says she was “hurt” when his behavior was called into question by senior United officials just three months after her twin brother’s death.
“And it’s something that really hurt me because they took my word for it that I was struggling, especially Bella and Geo [Georgina Rodriguez, Ronaldo’s girlfriend]. “We had a week in hospital because Bella had a big problem and I didn’t go to training because of that. “I didn’t want to leave my family to prepare, because I didn’t think it was fair to leave my family for a preparation. That’s why I didn’t go.” Use Chrome browser for more accessible video player United We Stand editor Andy Mitten believes Manchester United have treated Cristiano Ronaldo fairly and there was no betrayal by the club towards the player as Ronaldo wanted to leave Old Trafford in the summer. Manchester United are not commenting on Ronaldo’s latest comments.
“The Glazers don’t care about Manchester United”
Use Chrome browser for more accessible video player Speaking to Piers Morgan on Talk TV, Cristiano Ronaldo slammed Manchester United’s Glazer ownership, saying they “don’t care” about the club and also revealed he has never spoken to them. Ronaldo also said that Man Utd’s owners, the Glazers, are not interested in the club’s sporting success. The Glazers, who took ownership of the club through a leveraged buyout in 2005, a deal that left United with more than £500m of debt, have been widely criticized by fans. Ronaldo believes the current structure at United, with the Glazers in charge, makes it unlikely the club will challenge for top honors in the coming years. “The owners of the club – the Glazers – don’t care about the club. I mean professional sport. Manchester United is a marketing club, they get their money from marketing,” he added. “They don’t really care about sports, in my opinion.” Asked if he had spoken to the Glazers since returning, Ronaldo said: No, never. “They give all the power to the president, the athletic director. “The fans are always right. The fans need to know the truth. They have to know that the players want the best for the club, I want the best for the club. “That’s why I came to Manchester United, that’s why I love this club, but you have some things inside the club that don’t help it to reach the top level, like City, Liverpool and even now Arsenal. “It’s complicated, it’s difficult, it’s difficult. In my opinion, it will be difficult for Manchester United to be at the top of the game in the next two or three years.”
Ronaldo: Absolute focus on Portugal
Ronaldo has joined Portugal’s World Cup squad and insisted his “absolute focus” is on the national team amid uproar over his interview with Piers Morgan Uncensored. Ronaldo tweeted: “Total and total focus on the work of the National team. “A united team, towards a single goal: to fulfill the dream of all Portuguese people!”
Manchester United will take legal advice before making a decision on Ronaldo
Picture: Ronaldo missed United’s 2-1 win over Fulham on Sunday
United will take legal advice before deciding how to respond to Ronaldo, but will wait for the full interview to be released later this week before making any decision. Sky Sports News understands Ten Haag and United players are extremely disappointed with the manner and timing of Ronaldo’s interview. The club only found out about the interview as they were preparing to fly back from London on Sunday afternoon after their 2-1 win over Fulham and do not understand why he said what he said. They are very disappointed that he would not respect the club, his manager and his team-mates in this way and United are likely to consider all their options now regarding the player. Ronaldo was informed on Thursday that he would not be in the starting line-up against Fulham but would be in the squad. He told the club he was sick.
