- 9 hours ago
Ronaldo was right! Cristiano justified with Ten Hag criticism
Robin Bairner
- 24 May 2024 16:30 BST
- 4 min read
Cristiano Ronaldo was right. Exactly 18 months after he departed Manchester United, it is unquestionable that the comments that saw the Red Devils push him out the door were correct.
Ronaldo tore into the Man Utd establishment during a now infamous interview with Piers Morgan on Talk TV.
The five-time Ballon d’Or winner had a swipe at the club as a whole but reserved special vitriol for the Dutch coach.
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STATS
Cristiano Ronaldo
F (CL), AM (L)
Cristiano Ronaldo
F (CL), AM (L)
Al-Nassr
"I don't have respect for him because he doesn't show respect for me. If you don't have respect for me, I'm never gonna have respect for you," Ronaldo, who now plays with Al-Nassr in the Saudi Pro League, said.
"I think the fans should know the truth. I want the best for the club. This is why I come to Manchester United.
"As Picasso said, you have to destroy it to rebuild it [the artist's exact quote was: 'Every act of creation is first an act of destruction'] and if they start with me, for me, it's not a problem."
And, indeed, Man Utd did start with Ronaldo, releasing him officially by mutual consent. It was clear his fairy tale return had reached a nightmare conclusion.
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Man Utd should have listened to Ronaldo
At the time, it seemed that this was simply a fallen superstar lashing out. Ronaldo, after all, had scored only two Premier League goals to that point during the season, one of which was a substitute.
He was relegated to the role of substitute, which was something he had never faced in his career, and as he approached the end of his career at the top level in Europe, it appeared he was simply looking for someone to blame.
Subsequent events, though, cast Ronaldo in an altogether better light. He is not, after all, the only player that Ten Hag has had a thorny relationship with.
Whatever criticism can be cast at Cristiano, one aspect of his game that certainly cannot be questioned is his mentality. His professionalism and will to win are undoubtedly above everyone over the course of his career.
Ten Hag, though, was unable to channel this in the correct manner, just as he was unable to motivate Jadon Sancho to elevate his game when the winger allegedly slipped to the other extreme.
He arrived with the reputation of a disciplinarian, yet he was unable to discipline anyone properly.
While ‘CR7’ and Sancho were cast off for refusing to toe the line, Marcus Rashford continued to command a starting spot despite a controversial extra-curricular trip to Belfast.
Ten Hag has been unable to get a grasp on his squad either in terms of discipline or in terms of on-field quality. Man Utd could have saved a whole lot of hardship if they had just listened to Ronaldo in 2022.
