Cristiano Ronaldo's controversial, tell-all interview with Piers Morgan has sparked plenty of discussion online with the Manchester United forward making a number of bombshell revelations.
Former England striker Gary Lineker could seemingly barely believe what he was watching, taking to Twitter to express his shock at the unfiltered opinions Ronaldo was reeling off at scatter-gun speed on Piers Morgan Uncensored.
"Can’t see @Cristiano at Old Trafford for long. Burying pretty much everyone at the club in his interview with @piersmorgan: the players, the staff, the coaches, the board. Extraordinary!," Lineker wrote.
United's number seven admitted he came close to joining local rivals Manchester City before Sir Alex Ferguson's intervened, as well as confessing his disappointment at how little had changed around the club in the 12 years he had been elsewhere.
Ronaldo went as far to say as the "progress was zero" before agreeing that the decision to appoint Ralf Rangnick was ridiculous and conceding he hadn't heard of the German coach prior to his arrival.
Analysis of the interview flooded social media, with one fan writing on Twitter : "It's over for Ronaldo now - no coming back."
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One particularly furious supporter went for Morgan as well as Ronaldo, adding: "All this interview has done is expose, how embarassing both of you egotistical and narcissistic both of you are.
"You used gullible Ronaldo simply to boost your failing career. You’re no friend of his, giving him loaded questions you knew he’d get loads of hate for."
United fans were taken aback by how Ronaldo seemed so hurt by comments made by former team-mates that are now popular pundits, such as Gary Neville.
After Ronaldo claimed certain sections of the media were 'jealous' of his success, one user declared: "Sometimes I think that despite all his achievements and status in football, Ronaldo is still very much insecure because Why's he letting criticism bother him like this?"
That point prompted another fan to mention Ronaldo's long-time Ballon d'Or rival Lionel Messi, as they claimed: "That’s why he’s still far behind Messi. At the end of their career the only thing Ronaldo will have than Messi is just his Instagram followers."
In truth, this interview may have done Ronaldo's reputation more harm than good, with a number of fans and pundits alike of the belief that he went too far with some of his remarks.
On the flip side, if the discussion with Morgan forces through the United exit he so clearly craves, Ronaldo may view the backlash as worthwhile.
