Gary Neville has appeared to offer a partial defence of Cristiano Ronaldo for the manner in which he conducted his bombshell interview with Piers Morgan.
It was an explosive sit-down in which Ronaldo accused United of betrayal and trying to force him out. The Red Devils may be in a position to tear up the superstar's contract if they are advised under employment law that his behaviour is a serious enough breach of discipline.
Ronaldo issued a stinging attack on the club alongside claiming he “did not respect” boss Erik ten Hag, while also criticising his predecessor Ralf Rangnick – while also reserving criticism for Neville’s coverage of his situation.
Ronaldo told Talk TV of Neville: “It’s hard to listen [to] that kind of criticism and negative about people who play with you, for example, Gary Neville, as well. I think they take advantage of that (his profile) because they are not stupid. I’m the number one followed guy in the world. It’s not by coincidence.
“To listen as ex-colleagues or team-mates criticise you, when they only see one point of view. It’s easy. It’s easy to criticise, I don’t know if you have a job in television that they must criticise to be more famous. I really don’t understand it. It’s hard when you see people who was in the dressing room with you criticising that way.”
However, Neville has suggested that Ronaldo deserves some praise for speaking his mind and not being dictated by a PR company over the manner of the interview, although he accepted that his career at United was now certainly over and both the player and club deserve blame for the situation.
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Neville explained to Sky Sports on Thursday: “I would never criticise a footballer for being open and being independent thinkers. I have encouraged this for many years instead of them being micro-managed to within an inch of their life by a PR company.
“I can’t think that’s happened here – that any PR advice has told him to do this, he would have done it with his own strength of character and personality.
“There would have been a better way to do it but that is from the club’s side as much as Cristiano’s side. After the Chelsea game we had a debate in the (Sky Sports) studio in which I urged Cristiano and the club to come together that week – because it was obvious that the relationship was failing.”
Neville continued: “They had to navigate a pathway to January or to the World Cup whereby they would have a truce. It did not need to happen this way if both sides are proactive and mature so I am disappointed that such a meeting does not seem to have happened.
“Cristiano does not appear to have been controlled or managed, while it does not seem like he has reached out to the club either. It has now ended up in an unsavoury situation where it looks like the feelings between player and club will not be as good as they should be.
“He is one of the greatest ever footballers to play the game and he is certainly one of Manchester United ’s greatest players. It has not always ended correctly for star players at the club and it does not feel great now as a fan that it needs to end in this way.”
