The only thing truly rotten about Cristiano Ronaldo’s comments in an interview with Piers Morgan is the timing.
For someone who has always picked the moments to intervene on the field to perfection, this is a shocker. No-one cares, Cristiano. On the day the comments came to light, an 18-year-old with luminous talent scored a wonderful winner for Manchester United. That is what fans care about.
Alejandro Garnacho was assisted by a senior player who has always been a model of humility and has come back from serious illness to resume his wonderful career. Christian Eriksen - who scored the first against Fulham - is understated, never boastful and seems to be the complete team player. That is what fans care about.
Very recently, Pep Guardiola essentially said that Manchester United were back, that they were once again becoming an elite force. That is what fans care about. In the full interview - and he has every right to speak his mind, by the way - perhaps Ronaldo will give more evidence to support his betrayal claims but, right now, no right-minded United supporter can see it.
Twenty-six points from 14 fixtures is not a spectacular haul of points but there is a positivity amongst United fans. They are three points from a top-four position and have a game in hand on Spurs.
They have beaten Liverpool, Spurs and Premier League leaders, Arsenal. More importantly, they have a manager who is not shy of a tough decision. Think Ronaldo, think Harry Maguire. Erik ten Hag is brutal and supporters love that.
But not only is his timing rancid, the sentiments are hugely disheartening because Ronaldo had the chance to be a fundamental part of a United renaissance. Garnacho idolises Ronaldo, as all of the other young players at United surely do.
If Ronaldo had accepted that he would be used as an impact player this season but could also have an auxiliary role as a mentor and a coach, he would have been performing a selfless service to an institution he professes to love and his status as a club legend would have been cemented.
For a player at a giant club, there is no shame in losing an automatic starting place when your next birthday is your 38th and is less than three months away.
Accepting it with dignity and remaining an inspiration every day on the training ground and when you are needed on the pitch would have been the ideal way forward.
It is not as though Ten Hag has completely ostracised him, as he would have been entitled to after the strop at the end of the Spurs game when Ronaldo, an unused sub, left before the final whistle. No, Ten Hag even gave him the captain's armband for the match at Aston Villa recently. Significantly, United lost that match 3-1 and the simple truth is that United look a better team when Ronaldo is not starting.
When you are possibly the Greatest Of All Time - and more crucially, when you think you are the Greatest Of All Time - that is hard to take. But putting the team ahead of yourself is the very essence of the great game of football. That is what fans care about. Sadly, Cristiano Ronaldo no longer does.
