Cristiano Ronaldo's explosive Piers Morgan interview served as an emphatic goodbye to super-agent Jorge Mendes ahead of his stunning exit from Manchester United.
The pair had enjoyed a profitable relationship throughout the forward’s career with moves to Man Utd, Real Madrid and Juventus having all been successfully brokered. It was expected that the Portuguese would play a role in the veteran’s most recent career move with it being made clear that he was ready to move on from Old Trafford as early as last summer.
That did not materialise though as Ronaldo eventually forced an exit from the Red Devils via a memorable interview with outspoken TV personality Morgan. Ronaldo remained without a club during the World Cup before signing a mega-money deal with Saudi outfit Al-Nassr.
Mendes played no role in negotiations with Ricardo Regufe instead representing the veteran striker. It has since been claimed that Ronaldo went against his previous adviser’s call of going through with the interview and indeed putting pen to paper with Al-Nassr.
Now, it has been suggested that Ronaldo’s decision was the ultimate sign of disrespect for Mendes. A source claiming to be a friend of both Ronaldo and Mendes quoted by French outlet L’Equipe revealed how things deteriorated between the pair.
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The source said: “From Mendes’ point of view, the interview [with Morgan] was a huge f*** off.
“It’s like a divorce for him. It’s like his wife were to dump him, and he even knows her lover.”
Eventually, Ronaldo put pen to paper on a two-and-a-half-year deal with Al-Nassr and is set to rake in the highest wage in world football. He has enjoyed a bright start to life with the Saudi club.
The Portuguese scored twice on his first appearance in the country as an all-star Saudi XI took on French giants Paris-Saint Germain, with the score eventually finishing 5-4. Ronaldo has also been in electric form in competitive action too with five goals in as many games for Al-Nassr with a four-goal haul against Al-Wehda the highlight.
Despite that, boss Rudi Garcia has claimed that he might not actually be able to call on Ronaldo’s services for very long with a return to Europe on the cards. Speaking last month, he said: “He is one of the best players in the world. He will not finish his career at Al-Nassr, he will return to Europe.”
