Jamie Carragher has tweeted to say that the “one per cent” of people who will support Cristiano Ronaldo after Sunday’s extraordinary outburst will include ex-Manchester United trio Roy Keane, Rio Ferdinand and Patrice Evra.
The attacker dropped massive bombshells during an interview with Piers Morgan, during which he said he felt “betrayed” and was being “forced out” of the club.
No more than a week after being handed the captain’s armband for the dismal loss away to Aston Villa, the 37-year-old claimed several people at the club want to get rid of him. The interview comes after a catalogue of indiscretions which include trying to force a summer exit after deeming the team unlikely to win a trophy, and leaving Old Trafford early on two occasions during games early under Ten Hag’s reign.
READ MORE: Ronaldo accuses Ten Hag of trying to 'force him out' of United
Carragher was one pundit who called for Ten Hag to show Ronaldo the door in the summer and has frequently publicly called out the superstar for his behaviour. This led to the player blanking him live on TV when greeting Keane and Gary Neville during punditry duty ahead of the 2-1 win over Liverpool in August.
Neville similarly later got the cold shoulder after he criticised Ronaldo for his early walkout against Spurs. Ferdinand, Evra and Keane have all defended Ronaldo this season, with Keane having a heated debate with Neville about his status in the side after the 1-1 draw with Chelsea in October which came just days after his Spurs walkout.
Upon learning of Ronaldo’s comments on Sunday, Carragher tweeted: “Ronaldo under ETH [Erik ten Hag]: Announced he wanted to leave, refused to come on as a substitute, walked off the bench & left before the game had finished.
“99 per cent of United fans will be on the side of ETH, which shows how badly Ronaldo has handled this.” He added: “The one per cent will be Rio, Roy & Patrice…”
Last month, Ferdinand revealed he had spoken to Ronaldo about his reduced game time, stating that the star felt annoyed. He said of Ronaldo: “Obviously there’s an undertone of p***** off. But the calmness with which ‘the chance will come and I score goals’. It’s plain and simple, the chance will come at some point.
“There’s no doubt in my mind he’s upset - of course he is but I think every professional who rates themselves and wants to play games week in, week out will have a divine right to be upset, that’s a given.
“But then it’s about what you do after and when you’re given the opportunity. You don’t go in and sulk. He’s the quickest one off the bench when he’s being asked to go on the pitch. This guy has got an obsession with beating the haters, ramming it down their throats.”
He added: “That 700[th goal vs Everton] was to people like Jamie Carragher and people like that who are desperate to get him out of the door.”
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