Cristiano Ronaldo claims he was provoked into leaving Old Trafford after refusing to come on as a sub for Manchester United against Tottenham and that his three game punishment for doing so was too harsh.
The Portuguese star seems intent on burning his bridges and then some with United. He’s slaughtered manager Erik Ten Hag, the club hierarchy and former teammates in an two-part interview this week, with many speculating he wants the English Premier League giants to sack him in order to make a move elsewhere in January easier.
And while Ronaldo admits he now regrets his actions during the 2-0 home win over Spurs last month, he laid the blame squarely at the manager’s door. The record-breaking goalscorer insists asking players like him to come on for only three minutes is unacceptable. “I will be honest with you, it's something that I regret to leave from the stadium,” he told Piers Morgan in the second part of an interview aired this week.
“I think it was a strategy from the club for me to react that way. I was very, very, very, very disappointed for the communication of Manchester United. To be honest, I never had a problem with any club, with any coach.
“And they suspend me (for)three days, which I felt it was a lot - and the level of sport, clubs, I felt a lot. It was a shame, that…
“I remember arriving home and Cristiano saw me and said ‘Daddy do (you) not go to the game?’ I say ‘No, because the club punish me with three days’.
“And he did like *laughs* ‘How they're going to punish you if you are the best player in the world and you're not gonna play?’ I said ‘No I'm not going to play because I have not been behave’. And he looked at me like, ‘My Daddy not be behave, what?’”
“In one way, I was good because I was like, more relaxed, but in the same way, I feel very disappointed because, okay, I regret, I apologise, I'm not perfect, I made a mistake.
“But suspend me three days, for that, I think it's too much. And then they make fire for the press, which really disappoints me.
“Don’t tell me that the top players, the guys who want everything, the key players will play three minutes.
“Come on, this is unacceptable after what they keep saying before, that they respect me, that they do this, they do that. For me it was not respect, this is why I take this decision I regret.
“I apologised to my teammates for the situation, I did a post, an Instagram, I regret to left from the stadium. I regret my teammates know what I felt, and I apologised to them, but in the same way, I’m not regret to take the decisions to not come on…
“The coach didn’t have respect for me. So this is why the relationship, it’s in that way. He keep saying in the press that he come to me, he like me blah, blah, blah but that it’s only for the press. 100 per cent.”
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