Jason Cundy has branded Cristiano Ronaldo "deluded" after he chose to tell all in his interview with Piers Morgan.
The Manchester United star, who has remained silent for months amid talk of his exit from Old Trafford, finally spoke out and took aim at the Red Devils, their owners and his manager. He also took aim at current and former team-mates in what a scathing assessment.
Ronaldo has endured the toughest season of his career to date and his reaction to being used as a bit-part player by Erik ten Hag has been widely criticised. The 37-year-old addressed several issues in his interview, but Cundy has been left questioning how and why the player thought revealing all would be a good idea.
He said on talkSport : "I'm not actually sure he [Ronaldo] does set a good example. He's an unbelievable player, we all know how good he is, but it comes across quite obvious that in the last 20 years he hasn't had to deal with criticism, being left out the team, rejection... this is the first time in his life.
"He's living in a bubble. Footballers are in bubbles. I'm looking at a man there where no one around him has said anything and it's come home to roost now. That to me there is a person who is deluded if he thinks this has been a good idea, worse than I thought, far worse than I thought."
United have been quick to take steps after acknowledging the existence of the interview earlier this week. They're set to fine him £1million and are seeking legal advice regarding their next move, which could be sacking the five-time Ballon d'Or winner.
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Some have argued that would be the best course of action, given Ronaldo is also looking to leave less than 18 months after re-signing for the club. Chelsea, Bayern Munich and Sporting Lisbon were all linked with the forward in the summer, but no buyer was found.
"I don't quite get the end game with all this," Cundy added on Ronaldo's interview. "I came into it with quite an open mind - but who has he got around him? Who are his advisors? This is worse than I thought, far worse than I thought. I don't think he comes out of it particularly well. I have to say I don't think he's a particularly nice person. That came across. There is an unbelievable lack of self-awareness in every answer he gave. Everything was about him."
He also said: "If that was in the dressing room and I see that as a young kid at Man United, I don't want to be that person. I want to be that player; I don't want to be that person."
