Gary Neville has branded the ongoing saga around Cristiano Ronaldo’s future at Manchester United “unpalatable” and demanded his former teammate explain himself in an interview.
Uncertainty surrounds the United striker on the brink of the new season. After missing pre-season for personal reasons, he has made it clear that he wants to leave before the transfer window shuts on September 1, because he is desperate to play Champions League football in the twilight of his career.
The 37-year-old is contracted to United until June 2023 and the club has made it clear that they expect him to fulfil it. Ronaldo’s £500,000-a-week wages means finding a new club is extremely difficult anyway, meaning the striker’s status at the club is shrouded in doubt heading into the season-opener against Brighton on Sunday.
Neville opened up on his feelings during Sky Sports’ coverage of Arsenal’s win at Crystal Palace on Friday night. “If he’s fit, you start him and I hope he stays. I’m a little bit disappointed in him, I’ll be honest with you,” he admitted.
“Cristiano now is a good age. He’s been the greatest player in the world along with [Lionel] Messi for the last 10 years. He’s got all the experience in the world. Would it be too much to ask for him to come out and do an interview to clear things up and tell us what he’s thinking and what actually is happening? Would that be too much to ask a senior player?
“Is he just not going to do an interview for the next three weeks, or on Sunday after the game? Sky are obviously going to ask for him on Sunday after the game. Will he come out, stand up, do the interview and not let everybody else answer the questions for him? I think that would be a start.”
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Neville was particularly critical of Ronaldo for leaving United’s new manager, Erik ten Hag, in the lurch when dealing with the press. “For me, I’m disappointed because that clarity that we haven’t got, and the reason Erik ten Hag is getting a little bit jumpy is because he’s being asked difficult questions and he probably isn’t telling us the truth of it because he can’t,” Neville said.
“The reality of it is that if a Champions League club comes in for Cristiano Ronaldo in the next two weeks, I think we know that Cristiano Ronaldo wants to take that move. At the moment no one has come in for him, so that’s why the club is saying that he may stay and that we want him to stay.
“But if someone came in he’d go… I don’t know. Should Manchester United be waiting, two or three weeks until the end of a transfer window, as to whether their star centre-forward leaves? I don’t think they should be in that position.
“Do they say ‘No you’re not leaving, come what may’? That would be clarity from the club. But then there’s a big risk that, in two weeks’ time Cristiano throws his toys out of the pram and says ‘I’m leaving’. That could happen – and that’s I feel it’s a little bit unpalatable.”
