Cristiano Ronaldo's explosive interview with Piers Morgan has not divided the Manchester United dressing room in the ways many would expect.
Instead, it is thought that many of the current crop of Red Devils stars have just viewed this latest stunt as Ronaldo desperately trying to force through his Old Trafford exit as soon as possible. The 37-year-old sat down with Piers Morgan Uncensored to air his views on the way he feels he has been wronged by a number of high-ranking figures within the club, including manager Erik ten Hag.
While it is unlikely the rest of the United squad were particularly pleased with the comments, The Athletic report that the majority of Ronaldo's teammates have been resigned to the fact he wants out for some time and as a result, his influence in the dressing room has waned accordingly.
It is thought that Ronaldo's temper tantrum during last month's 2-0 home win over Tottenham was the last straw in the eyes of many in the squad.
The five-time Ballon d'Or winner refused to come off the bench in the last knockings of the game and instead opted to storm down the Old Trafford tunnel while the game was still going on.
Ten Hag took the decision to briefly suspend Ronaldo from the first-team fold as punishment and he was axed from the matchday squad when United took on Chelsea at Stamford Bridge.
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Shortly after Ronaldo was reintegrated and even given the captain's armband for the 3-1 defeat away at Aston Villa, but now Ten Hag is placed in a position where he is forced to hold crisis talks with those above him in the club hierarchy in regards to how they deal with their wantaway star.
The players, however, appear to have simply lost interest in the sorry state of affairs.
Ronaldo did not hold back in his recent interview with Morgan, in which he slammed Ten Hag. He said, via The Sun: "I don't have respect for him because he doesn't show respect for me. If you don't have respect for me, I'm never gonna have respect for you."
He then went on to blast the club's lack of progress in the years between his two spells in Manchester, adding: "The progress was zero. Since Sir Alex [Ferguson] left, I saw no evolution in the club. Nothing had changed.
"I think the fans should know the truth. I want the best for the club. This is why I come to Manchester United.
"But you have some things inside that don't help (us) reach the top level as City, Liverpool and even now Arsenal... a club with this dimension should be top of the tree in my opinion and they are not, unfortunately."
