Part two of Cristiano Ronaldo’s interview with Piers Morgan aired on TalkTV tonight. The chat has dominated football discourse this week, and over the course of the last two nights fans have heard what the Portugal captain has to say about a number of topics.
Night two felt like the meatier half of the discussion, with Ronaldo answering several questions relating to his clashes with Manchester United manager Erik ten Hag, his refusal to come on as a substitute against Tottenham Hotspur and his relationship with Lionel Messi.
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Ten Hag and recent controversies at Old Trafford dominated the discussion. The line where Ronaldo said, “He doesn't respect (me) the way I should deserve. But it is what it is. This is why probably, the game against Tottenham, I left”, dominated discussions earlier this week. Now seen in its proper context, it is clear there was a build-up to that moment on Ronaldo’s side. His issue seemed to stem from the length of time he was being asked to play in the match.
“Don’t tell me that the top players, the guys who want everything, the key players will play three minutes. This is unacceptable after what they keep saying before, that they respect me. For me it was not respect, this is why I take this decision I regret. I apologised to my teammates for the situation, I regret to (have) left the stadium. I regret it, my teammates know what I felt, and I apologised. But in the same way, I don't regret taking the decision to not come on. The coach didn’t have respect for me. So this is why the relationship, it’s in that way. He keeps saying in the press that he came to me, he likes me. But that 's only for the press. 100%.”
An earlier moment that Ronaldo was asked about by Morgan was the fact Ten Hag didn’t bring him on against Manchester City during United’s 6-3 defeat to their rivals at the Etihad. At the time, Ten Hag said his decision was taken because he respected Ronaldo’s career too much to deploy him in an unwinnable situation. But Ronaldo bristled at the suggestion.
“Excuses, I see excuses. I don't want to criticise him. He can have a different opinion than me. They choose the players that they think are better for the team. I respect that but excuses all the time you know. Okay, you don't put me on against Manchester City because of respect for my career and you want to put me (on for) three minutes against Tottenham? It doesn’t make sense. I think he did it on purpose.”
Watch here at 8pm:
@cristiano | @piersmorgan | @TalkTV | #90MinutesWithRonaldo | #PMU
Ronaldo would frequently return to this idea of deliberate slights from Ten Hag and the club. Playing into his narrative of feeling forced out, many decisions have been interpreted by the forward as attempts to dislodge him. His suspension after the Spurs incident is one such matter that ‘CR7’ feels was engineered by a club desperate to see the back of him.
"I think it was a strategy from the club for me to react that way. I was very, very, very, very disappointed with the communication of Manchester United. To be honest, I never had a problem with any club, with any coach. And they suspended me for three days, which I felt was a lot. It was a shame.”
Ronaldo interpreted his decision to leave after being substituted in a pre-season friendly with Rayo Vallecano in the same way, pointing out “in that game eight players did the same but they only speak about the black sheep, which is me”. Returning to the Ten Hag vendetta, Ronaldo added, “I regret, but in the same way I felt provoked by the coach.”
Piers asked Ronaldo the question that has been on everyone’s lips, that being whether he will still be a Manchester United player come 1st January. Ronaldo emphasised his focus was on the World Cup, which he had earlier termed “a good tournament” and stated of the hosts “Qatar; they are prepared”. But for any hopeful Red Devils fans that want to see Ronaldo in the red shirt again, his response didn’t sound particularly promising.
“When I arrived at Manchester United, I will always be available to help the team to do good things, to compete with the best teams. But it's hard when they cut your legs off and they don't like you to shine and they don’t listen to your advice. I have words to advise the club because the trophies are won individually and collectively. I think I can help a lot, but when the infrastructure is not good…”
The Portuguese superstar admitted he had been subject to transfer offers, during the summer and more recently. Morgan asked about the reported €350 million offer from an unnamed Saudi Arabian club, which Ronaldo confirmed. When asked how he could turn that down he conceded, “It's hard. But in the same way, I thought that I was very happy here; that I was still capable of scoring goals. I still believe that I can score many, many goals and help the team because I still believe that I'm still good and capable”
Raging against the recurring theme of clubs coming out publicly and denying they have been in talks to sign him, Ronaldo said “They say that they offer me this and that, and many presidents and directors speak about rejecting me. It's a complete lie, they lie. Because this is not what's happened. I have many clubs, not many, a few clubs that want me to sign and I didn't go because I feel comfortable here. This is the truth.”
@cristiano | @piersmorgan | @TalkTV | #90MinutesWithRonaldo | #PMU
Ronaldo did have some kind words to say amongst the United/Ten Hag grievances. Surprisingly, perennial rival Lionel Messi came off better than most. Ronaldo deemed his fellow GOAT-debate partner an “amazing player”.
“We share the stage for 16 years. I have a great relationship with him. I'm not a friend of his in terms of, what I mean is a friend is the guy who was with you in your house, speaking on the phone. But it's like a teammate. He’s a guy that I really respect. The way he always speak about me. What am I going to say about Messi? A great guy who does great things for football.”
As he did on night one, Sir Alex Ferguson emerged with a lot of credit. His role as Ronaldo’s mentor is well-documented, and clearly the Scotsman remains a guiding light on his journey. Inevitably though, talk of Ferguson turned to criticism of the club they once shared.
“He's always on my side. He always understands me. He knows better than anybody that the club is not on the path they deserve to be. Everyone knows. The people who don't see that is because they don't want to see; they are blamed. The fans, they are always the answer, and the passion for the game. Manchester belongs to the fans, but they should know the truth. The infrastructure is not good. They should change.”
It feels appropriate to end on the subject of Ronaldo’s retirement. At the age of 37, it is clear this titan of the sport can’t go on forever. But whether it’s for United or the wealth of clubs apparently after him, when will Ronaldo hang up the boots?
“I want to play two years more, three years more. So two or three years maximum. I want to finish with 40. I think 40 will be a good age. I don't know the future. Sometimes you plan one thing for your life, (but) the life is dynamic. And you never know what's going to happen.”
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