The first part of Cristiano Ronaldo’s highly anticipated interview with Piers Morgan aired tonight on TalkTV. The Manchester United striker’s comments didn’t yield anything unexpected, as those who have followed the drip-feed of previews will have seen many of his “sensational” quotes before.
Ralf Rangnick, Wayne Rooney, the press and Gary Neville were in his sights on tonight’s first part of the interview, with the remainder set to air tomorrow. The chat was at times overly familiar, with the expected backslapping from Morgan and frequent simpering over his subject’s looks, physique, abilities and status. A lengthy section went into Ronaldo’s near-half billion social media following, for example.
READ MORE:
But that’s not what fans were tuning in for, they wanted to hear the Portugal captain air his grievances. Ronaldo certainly didn’t let them down on that score, even if most of his targets were expected.
The most interesting revelation was Ronaldo’s insight into his mooted move to Manchester City.
"It was close. They spoke a lot and [Pep] Guardiola said they tried hard to have me. But my heart, my feeling and what I had done before – and Sir Alex Ferguson – made the difference." Going into his discussions with his former manager at the time, Ronaldo continued, “I spoke with him. He said to me that it’s impossible for you to come to Manchester City and I said ‘Okay boss’ It was a good decision.”
But the sourness Ronaldo feels towards his current employers was soon evident. Morgan tried to draw joyous memories from his subject on his goalscoring second debut against Newcastle United. Instead, Ronaldo went into detail on the stagnation he sees at Old Trafford.
“To be honest, when I signed for Manchester United I thought everything (would have) changed because it had been 13 years. I was at Real Madrid nine years then Juventus. I thought everything would be different, the technology, the infrastructures and everything. Everything was the same. It surprised me a lot, the instability in the club. Everything was kind of the same. They stopped the clock in my opinion which is something that surprised me.”
"Everything is easy, they don't suffer."
Watch live:
@cristiano | @piersmorgan | #90MinutesWithRonaldo | #PMU
Another element Ronaldo didn’t enjoy was the coach he was soon confronted with. Ole Gunnar Solskjaer, the man he signed for and who Ronaldo called “a top guy”, was replaced by Ralf Rangnick. “After Ole they bring in the sport director Ralf Rangnick, something which nobody understands. This guy is not even a coach. A bigger club like Manchester United bringing in a sport director, surprised not only me but the world.”
It was a doomed partnership from the get-go, and when Morgan mentioned criticism Ronaldo had received for not pressing, he once again laid the blame at Rangnick’s door.
“The new coaches coming around, they think they’ve found the last Coca-Cola in the desert. I respect any coach with a different approach, different opinions, a different mentality. At some point you do not agree. I’m always like that in my life. I’ve always been beside the best coaches in the world. Zidane, Ancelotti, Mourinho, Fernando Santos, Allegri. So I have some experience because I learned from them. When you see some coaches who want to revolutionise football, I don't agree.”
Ronaldo also found a disconnect with the young players he was surrounded with, alleging “they don’t respect the most experienced players or the oldest players.” But, unusually for such a specifically targeted interview seemingly designed to rile his club, Ronaldo doesn’t see this as just a United problem.
“They don’t respect the most experienced players or the oldest players. They live in a different era. I can see with my kid, 12 years old, the mentalities are not the same. They don’t suffer. They don’t care. I don't mean only Manchester United. I mean all teams in the world. I remember when I was 18, 19, 20; I looked to see the best players. Van Nistelrooy, Ferdinand, Keane, Giggs. This is why I had the success I had. Because I see these guys and I learn from them”
Cristiano Ronaldo tells Piers Morgan he'd never heard of Ralf Rangnick when he was appointed Manchester United's manager.
Watch live:
@PiersUncensored | #90MinutesWithRonaldo
Ronaldo saved his most pointed barbs for his critics, whether they used to play alongside him or merely cover his career as a profession. “The press, they want to put me on the first page because they know they’ll sell more.” was a fair statement, even if it misunderstood the fact that a central tenet of journalism is to go where the news is, and his status as arguably the greatest player of all time will always invite coverage. Still, the striker was unbowed, adding “I don't like to read because 90% of the time they lie, the press are garbage. Not all of them but most of them don’t say the truth.”
The five-time Ballon d’Or winner seemed particularly hurt by criticism from his former teammates. Rooney was singled out, with Ronaldo shockingly revealing that “six months ago he was in my house, his kids were here.” This moment of genuine upset over a falling out between friends soon dissipated when Morgan began crowing about the fact Ronaldo is better looking than his former colleague.
Unsurprisingly, Ronaldo picked up this sycophantic thread. “He finished his career in his 30s, i’m still playing at a high level. I’m not going to say I'm looking better than him, which is true (laughs). It's hard to listen to that kind of criticism from people who played with you.” Ronaldo lumped Gary Neville into the same boat with Rooney, adding “We are not having dinner together.” in a quote the former right back ran with on Twitter earlier this week.
There’s more to come from the Ronaldo-Morgan strike partnership, as we await tomorrow’s interview. The Glazer criticism is a hotly-anticipated aspect still to be dug into. What tonight’s show lacked was genuine revelations, considering the most noteworthy material has been available since Monday. Ronaldo might have the world hanging on his every word, but we are yet to hear anything truly fresh from him.
*18+ | BeGambleAware | Odds Subject To Change
