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It’s safe to assume that Cristiano Ronaldo’s second stint with Manchester United is coming to an end sooner rather than later.
After Ronaldo refused to enter a mid-October game against Tottenham as a substitute, it seemed like the frustrations from Ronaldo’s side, as well as the club’s side, were coming to a head.
The 37-year-old sat down with Piers Morgan of The Sun for an exclusive interview as the soccer star explained his feelings towards the club after recent controversy.
Ronaldo told Morgan he feels “betrayed” by the club for the way he has been treated and also feels like he’s become a “black sheep” who has been blamed for everything that has gone wrong with United recently.
Ronaldo specifically aired his grievances to Morgan about United manager Erik ten Hag, who the soccer star says he’s lost all respect for.
“I don’t have respect for him because he doesn’t show respect for me,” Ronaldo said. “If you don’t have respect for me, I’m never gonna have respect for you.”
Ten Hag was vocal about his frustrations with Ronaldo after he refused to enter the victory over Tottenham in October. For ten Hag, the frustration over Ronaldo’s behavior was a carryover from a summer friendly against Rayo Vallecano in which Ronaldo and other teammates left the stadium before the end of the game after being substituted out at halftime.
Ronaldo’s latest antics drove ten Hag to address the October incident with the media after that match.
“I am the manager. I’m responsible for the top sport culture here and I have to set standards and values and I have to control them,” he said. “We are in a team. After Rayo Vallecano I said it’s unacceptable but he wasn’t the only one. That is for everyone, when it’s the second time it will have consequence. That is now what we did. We’ll miss him tomorrow, it’s a miss for the squad but I think it’s important for the attitude, mentality for the group.”
As for Ronaldo, he is one of the greatest soccer players in the history of the sport. However, his final tenure with Manchester United will be remembered more for his behavior off the field than on it.
