Eric Cantona has told Cristiano Ronaldo he “has to accept” that he is no longer a young footballer after his relationship with Manchester United broke down.
Ronaldo completed a stunning move to Saudi Arabian club Al-Nassr earlier this month and is expected to earn in the region of £173million per year. The deal comes after Ronaldo ended his relationship with United by mutual consent in November following a bombshell interview with Piers Morgan.
The Portuguese superstar fell out of favour under Erik ten Hag, who selected the striker from the start in just four Premier League matches this campaign as Marcus Rashford and Anthony Martial were preferred up front by the United boss.
Ronaldo, who is now a month shy of his 38th birthday, struggled to accept his new reality at Old Trafford and refused to come on as a substitute against Tottenham in October – leaving the stadium early in an incident which sparked a chain of events that led to his exit the following month.
United legend Cantona retired from playing football at the age of 30, after inspiring the Manchester club to their fourth Premier League title in the space of a five-year span. He has explained how if players are to continue playing late into their 30s, they must accept that their status has changed.
When asked about Ronaldo’s exit from United, Cantona explained in an interview to the Manchester Evening News : "He came back here and United wasn't the United he left and sometimes he doesn't realise things changed. So maybe he was surprised so many things changed."
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Cantona explained how there were two kinds of players in football - those like him, who like to retire early, or those who want to continue as long as possible, with Ronaldo keen to go into his forties. The Frenchman also pointed out that those who continue to play are often split between those who want to play every game - like Ronaldo - or those who are happy to be a bit-part player but are also there to help the younger players coming through.
He continued, in what can be seen as a direct criticism of Ronaldo: "Like (Zlatan) Ibrahimovic still does it with Milan, Ryan Giggs or (Paolo) Maldini when he was in Milan. But I think Ronaldo didn't realise - and he still doesn't realise - he's not 25 years old. He's just older and he should have realised that instead of being not happy to play some games, say, 'okay, I am not 25 years old, I cannot play every game, but I will help the young players and accept that situation and that's my situation'."
Cantona added: "It's like everything in the world, you have people who accept they are older. You have to accept it. In everything we do. Not only in football. In everything.
"I cannot run as fast as when I was 30 years old, I have to accept it. I have to accept I will die someday. It's difficult to accept it but we have to. And the end of a career is like dying. It's a little death. You have to start another thing. And before you die, you're getting old and you have to accept you are getting old. You cannot do the things you do."
