Manchester United great Gary Neville has claimed that "it didn't need to be like this" after news emerged that the club are considering sacking Cristiano Ronaldo following his interview with Piers Morgan.
The second and final part of Ronaldo's interview with Morgan aired on Thursday night, as United got the full picture of the range of accusations and comments the 37-year-old made. The club are now considering sacking and suing Ronaldo for a possible breach of contract in the wake of his remarks.
The club released a statement on Friday saying that they have "initiated appropriate steps" following the conclusion of Ronaldo's interview with Morgan. The former Real Madrid man claimed he had "no respect" for Erik ten Hag, while also criticising his former teammates and the current generation of youth players in a wide-ranging string of scathing statements.
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Ronaldo particularly took issue with Neville, as he claimed that the former United captain was only criticising him to become "more famous".
Ronaldo told Morgan: "To listen as ex-colleagues or teammates criticise you, when they only see one point of view. It's easy to criticise, I don't know if you have a job in television that they must criticise to be more famous. I really don't understand it.
"It's hard when you see people who was in the dressing room with you criticising that way. I think they take advantage of that because they are not stupid. I'm the number one followed guy in the world. It's not by coincidence."
Neville has now responded to the news that United are considering terminating Ronaldo's contract, as he took to social media to share his thoughts on the current situation.
He said: "Sad that it’s come to a point where arguably United’s greatest ever talent is likely to be sacked. It didn’t need to be like this. A mature conversation a few weeks ago between “both parties” could have secured a smooth exit."
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