Cristiano Ronaldo and Manchester United are making all the headlines on the eve of the World Cup in Qatar. The Portuguese international hit out at the club he rejoined in 2021 this week in a fiery interview with Piers Morgan.
Ronaldo wanted to leave the Red Devils in the summer, but was not allowed to go and now he has fallen out of favour under new manager Erik ten Hag, with the player and club involved in a war of words over his future and place in the squad. He was linked with a summer move to Chelsea, but Thomas Tuchel kyboshed the idea, despite new owner Todd Boehly meeting with agent Jorge Mendes.
Ronaldo was the club's top scorer last season with 24 goals in all competitions, but has been left on the bench or out of the squad entirely by ten Hag this season, with appearances mainly limited to Europa League competition. Ten Hag said he did not bring Ronaldo on late in one game out of "respect" for the superstar, while Ronaldo then refused to come on when on the bench for a game against Tottenham.
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During the interview, Ronaldo said he felt he had been "betrayed by the club". And that he had "no respect" for the manager at Old Trafford.
He said: "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 going to have respect for you."
The Ronaldo saga has overshadowed what has been a vast improvement from United on the pitch under ten Hag, following their back-to-back defeats to start the Premier League campaign against Brighton and Brentford. United are fifth in the table and knocking on the door of the Champions League places.
But former United midfielder Clayton Blackmore believes a Ronaldo departure could hurt them more than they think. Speaking to BETDAQ he said: "I think for the club, and for him, it’s the best bet to let him go. He’s been so good for the club so it’s the right thing to do, to let him go. Everybody’s going to be happy then and it’s not going to continue to be dragged through the papers. He doesn’t want to be there. It is what it is, people clash at times and it can happen in football.
"I think if Ronaldo were to stay until the end of the season – though he might sign for someone in January – they could get into the top four. Without him I just don’t think they’re strong enough to make the top four, and might have to settle for fifth.
"They’ve still got to step up another level and work hard, against Fulham they got lucky. It will be a disappointment for them if they don’t finish in the top four, it always is for the club to miss out on the Champions League. But there are teams like Newcastle knocking on the door this season, and there are teams in the top eight who you wouldn’t usually expect to finish there, so it’s going to be difficult."
If United do miss out, that lessens the number of clubs vying for those top four spaces by one and will be a huge boost to the likes of Tottenham, Chelsea and Liverpool, with the latter two behind United in the table.
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