‘Have no respect for him’

Cristiano Ronaldo appears to be aiming for a departure from Manchester United during the winter break. The Portuguese attacks coach Erik ten Hag. “I feel betrayed,” he says in a conversation with the British program Piers Morgan Uncensored.

“They want me out. Not just the coach, but also two or three others from the board,” said Ronaldo. “I have a feeling that some people don’t want me here anymore. Not only this season, but also last season.”

Ronaldo was recently temporarily suspended by Ten Hag, because he refused to come on as a substitute during a Premier League match against Tottenham Hotspur on 19 October. “I have no respect for him, because he doesn’t show respect for me either,” says the 37-year-old Portuguese.

Ronaldo is also amazed at the current state of Manchester United. “I don’t know what’s going on, but since Alex Ferguson left, the club hasn’t developed. There hasn’t been any progress,” he says.

The five-times World Footballer of the Year left United in 2009, to return to his old love in 2021. “Nothing has changed here. Look at the swimming pools or the gym for example: time seems to stand still here. I feel surprises. I expected to see new things, but here I still see things that I already saw when I was 22 or 23.”

Ronaldo was also very surprised by Manchester United’s coaching policy. “Look, for example, the sacking of Ole (Gunnar Solskjær, ed). Then they get Ralf Rangnick, a sporting director. This man is not even a coach. That the club appoints a sporting director not only surprises me, but the whole world,” Ronaldo said.