Cristiano Ronaldo has made a number of audacious statements in his interview with Piers Morgan, a number of which will have huge ramifications for his status at the club.
In the 90-minute sit-down, the superstar revealed Sir Alex Ferguson’s role in his return to Old Trafford, describing how he persuaded the attacker against joining Manchester City in favour of his former club.
Unlike his mood in the interview, Ronaldo at the time said he was delighted to return to The Theatre of Dreams in his first comments upon his homecoming in August 2021. “I think it’s the best decision that I have made it,” he said.
READ MORE: Every word from the second part of Cristiano Ronaldo's interview with Piers Morgan
“It’s right on point in my opinion. I moved from Juve now to Manchester, it’s a new chapter, I’m so happy and glad, and I want to carry on again, to make history.
“To try to help Manchester achieve great results, to win trophies and number one of them, to win great things.” Given his exit is surely imminent, Ronaldo has failed in two of the three objectives he laid out in that last sentence.
The 37-year-old, who scored 24 goals last season, has enjoyed some memorable games for United during his first year back. The stoppage-time winner in the Champions League group stage clash with Villarreal sticks out, while his comeback brace against Newcastle and his hat-tricks against Tottenham and Norwich were also vintage Ronaldo.
But his misjudgement on how much he could impact a flailing United team has probably led to his accumulated frustration, but after less than 12 months he had already given up hope of winning a trophy with the current squad.
He handed in a transfer request over the summer, one of the reasons for this being his belief that the team were incapable of lifting silverware in the near future. Last term, United were knocked out of the Champions League in the last 16 and exited in the early rounds of both domestic cups amid their dire league campaign, handing Ronaldo a rare trophyless season.
Finally, his vague phrase of “great things” is up for interpretation but it’s fair to argue that this was at least a top-four finish last season. The absence of Champions League football this year will have irked Ronaldo, who had never featured in the Europa League before.
Whatever, he meant by the term, it certainly wasn’t what unfolded last season. Of course, not all the responsibility lies at his feet but many have suggested his presence in fact hindered the squad, rather than enhanced it.
During his stay, Ronaldo has gone through four managers, two of whom he clearly has no love for judging by his interview. The serial achiever possibly now regrets his “best decision” of last year, having failed in two of three initial missions.
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