Every word that Cristiano Ronaldo had said about Manchester United in his previous interview, in November 2022, with British broadcaster Piers Morgan turned out to be prophetic. The club, however, considered the interview incendiary and terminated Ronaldo’s contract, backing then manager Erik ten Hag over him instead. No wonder that United oscillate between 15th and 8th (current standing) in the Premier League table.
The Portuguese maestro, who now plays for Al-Nassr in the Saudi Pro League, has once again taken a brutal swipe at his former club, dismissing United’s chances of winning the Premier League title. “I'm sad because of the club, one of the most important in the world that I still have in my heart,” Ronaldo said in his latest interview on Piers Morgan Uncensored.
He added: “You have to work with smart people to create a base for the future as Manchester did so many years ago with Nicky Butt, Gary (Neville), (Roy) Keane, (David) Beckham… They became big players but had youth.”
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The ownership structure has changed at United since Ronaldo’s previous interview three years ago. INEOS under Sir Jim Ratcliffe has taken charge of the football side of the affairs. The resurrection, though, is yet to happen. In the ongoing Premier League, they flirted with positivity after winning three matches on spin. But after a bad result against Nottingham Forest last Saturday, it's back to square one. As it has turned out, it was a case of another false dawn at United.
“Manchester United right now doesn't have a structure, I hope that they change in the future because the potential of the club is amazing,” said Ronaldo. “Of course (it hurts me). I love that club, but we have to be honest and say they're not on a good path. They need to change and it's not only about the coach and players in my opinion, it's much more than that.”
Ronaldo was asked about United’s current manager Ruben Amorim, who has a win percentage of 31.4 in the Premier League. Under him, the club finished 15th last term and also inexplicably lost to Tottenham Hotspur in the Europa League final. The Red Devils, ignominiously, don't have any European football this season.
Ronaldo, however, has sympathised with Amorim, his former teammate in the Portugal national team. The legendary centre-forward has questioned the mentality of the majority of the players at United instead. “He (Amorim) is doing his best. What are you going to do? Miracles. Miracles is (sic) impossible. We say in Portugal, ‘Miracles is (sic) only in Fatima’... And he is not gonna do miracles.”
Ronaldo went on: “They have good players but they don’t have, some of them, in mind what Manchester United is.”
In his previous interview, Ronaldo had spoken about how he didn't see any progress at United upon his return to the club. United have gone deeper in the mire since.
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