Cristiano Ronaldo's interview with Piers Morgan continues to generate controversy.
The Manchester United forward hit out at a host of different figures, from those in charge at the club to former team-mates with whom he enjoyed some of his finest moments.
His words may spell the end of his United career and have also seemingly cast a shadow over Portugal's preparations for their World Cup campaign, with Ronaldo receiving an apparently frosty reception from club and country team-mate Bruno Fernandes when joining up with his national team.
Ronaldo looks to have burnt several bridges with his comments, and here Stats Perform looks at the most explosive comments from an interview that will live long in the memory.
United doubted daughter's ill-health
One of the more specific claims Ronaldo made in the interview is that senior figures at United did not believe his reasoning for missing pre-season prior to the current campaign.
Ronaldo said he did not feature in pre-season because his daughter was in hospital, but alleged some at the club were sceptical of that explanation.
"I spoke with the director and the president of Man Utd and they kind of didn't believe that something was going wrong, which made me feel bad," the Portugal captain said.
When pressed to confirm senior United figures did not believe he was telling the truth, Ronaldo added: "They believe me but in the same way [shakes head]… And it is something that really hurt me because they doubted my word that I was struggling, especially Bella and Geo [Georgina Rodriguez, Ronaldo's girlfriend].
"We had one week in hospital because Bella had a big problem and I didn't go to the pre-season because of that. I didn't want to leave my family to do the pre-season because I didn't think it was fair to leave my family for a pre-season. This is why I didn't go."
Glazers don't care
The Glazer family are not popular with the fans at Old Trafford, and the club's ownership clearly also do not have a supporter in Ronaldo.
"The owners of the club, the Glazers, they don't care about the club. The sports, they don't really care in my opinion," he said. "I've never spoken to them. They give all the power to the sporting director.
"The fans are always right, they should know the truth. The players, we want the best for the club, I want the best for the club, this is why I came back to Manchester United, it is why I love the club. But you have some things inside the club which don't help you reach the top level like [Manchester] City, Liverpool, even now Arsenal, for example, which is difficult.
"It's hard. In my opinion, it will be hard for United to be at the top of the game in the next two or three years."
"I feel betrayed"
The narrative before the season was that Ronaldo was looking for a move away from Old Trafford.
Ronaldo, however, indicated the opposite is true. Asked whether he felt he was being forced out of Old Trafford, he said: "Yes, not only by the coach, but by another two or three guys around the club that I felt betrayed me.
"I shouldn't say that [they were trying to get rid of me], I don't know, but yes, I feel betrayed. I felt that some people didn't want me here, not only this year but last year too."
No respect for Ten Hag
Erik ten Hag insisted before the season that Ronaldo was not for sale, but has since started him in just four Premier League games.
Last month, Ten Hag said he opted against bringing Ronaldo on in a 6-3 defeat to rivals Manchester City "out of respect", while the Portugal forward was visibly irritated by the Dutchman's decision to substitute him against Newcastle United two weeks later.
Asked about his relationship with Ten Hag, Ronaldo added: "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 going to have respect for you."
They are not my friends
Ronaldo has been heavily criticised for his antics by former team-mates Wayne Rooney and Gary Neville, and he accused them of using his name to gain fame in their post playing careers.
"They are not my friends. I don't know if they have a job on television where they must criticise me to become more famous, I really don't understand," he added.
"I think they take advantage of that because they're not stupid. I have to carry on with my life with criticism or praise but it's hard when you see people who were in the dressing room with you, criticising you in that way. I'm not going to lose sleep because they criticise but it's not good to listen to that. It's a little bit disappointing."
Rooney criticism rooted in jealousy
There were further harsh words for Rooney, with Ronaldo suggesting his criticism is because he is jealous.
"I don't know why he criticises me so badly," said Ronaldo. "Probably because he finished his career and I'm still playing at a high level.
"I'm not going to say that I'm looking better than him – which is true..."
Ending FA Cup replays another example of EFL being ‘marginalised’, says league
The decision to scrap FA Cup replays is further evidence of the EFL and its clubs being “marginalised”, the league has said.
The Football Association announced on Thursday it had reached an agreement with the Premier League on the future format and funding of the competition, which would include all replays from the first round being abolished.
A number of EFL clubs have criticised the changes and insisted they were not consulted, with the FA releasing a statement on Friday saying it understood those concerns and would share details with them about how any shortfall in lost replay revenue may be made up.
However, the EFL said this was just the most recent example of how the league and its clubs were being sidelined, with the Premier League clubs having also decided to halt discussions over a new financial settlement with the EFL.
“This latest agreement between the Premier League and the FA, in the absence of financial reform, is just a further example of how the EFL and its clubs are being marginalised in favour of others further up the pyramid and that only serves to threaten the future of the English game,” the EFL’s statement on Friday afternoon said.
“The EFL today calls on both the Premier League and the FA, as the governing body, to re-evaluate their approach to their footballing partnership with the EFL and engage more collaboratively on issues directly affecting our clubs.”
John O’Shea could stay as interim Ireland boss as permanent appointment delayed
John O’Shea could remain interim Republic of Ireland manager after the Football Association of Ireland revealed Stephen Kenny’s permanent successor may not be in place until September.
The 42-year-old former Manchester United and Ireland defender took charge of March’s friendlies against Belgium and Switzerland as officials continued their search for a replacement for Kenny, who lost his job in November.
However, director of football Marc Canham, who said last month the new manager would be announced “in early April”, confirmed on Friday the recruitment process was ongoing and could be for some time yet.
Canham told FAI TV: “Realistically we’re looking now towards the UEFA Nations League with our first game against England in September and that’s what we’re aiming to do.
“We recognise that the timelines and deadlines that we’ve previously set have created a sense of expectation and potentially confusion for everyone.
“In hindsight, we would maybe not set those deadlines if we were to do this again and absolutely just commit to trying to find the best person and take as long as that should take, and that’s our aim.
“We recognise and apologise for that, but we’re also confident that ultimately we believe this process will result in us finding the best person for the job.”
Canham revealed talks with O’Shea, who has indicated he would like to be considered as a candidate for the permanent role, over an extension to his interim spell to cover June’s friendlies against Hungary and Portugal were under way.
He said: “In the two June friendlies, the expectation now is that we will have an interim head coach whilst we continue the search for a permanent head coach for September. We would like that to be John O’Shea.
“We were very pleased with what he did in the March friendlies and we’re talking to him at the moment. We’re hoping to be able to confirm that as soon as possible.”
England Under-21s coach Lee Carsley, who was the FAI’s preferred candidate, has ruled himself out of the race, while Neil Lennon has been told he will not be getting the job and Gus Poyet, Chris Coleman and Chris Hughton have all be touted for the post.
However despite discussions between the association and a series of candidates, an appointment is yet to be made and Canham, who along with president Paul Cooke, interim chief executive David Courell and board member Packie Bonner has been handed the task of identifying the new manager, acknowledged mounting frustration among fans.
He said: “We have many great memories of our men’s national team competing at major tournaments and that’s what we want in the future and that’s why we are taking our absolute time and doing our very best and are determined to find the best person to help make sure we have future memories of that, of qualifying for major tournaments.”
Erik ten Hag denies Man Utd squad is fractured after Alejandro Garnacho incident
Manchester United boss Erik ten Hag confirmed Alejandro Garnacho has apologised for liking social media posts criticising his handling of the player and insisted the incident does not show the squad is fractured.
The Argentina winger, who was taken off at half-time of last weekend’s 2-2 draw at Bournemouth, liked two messages on X, formerly Twitter, which were negative about Ten Hag.
He quickly unliked both posts and has now apologised, leaving no issues around his involvement for this weekend’s FA Cup semi-final against Coventry at Wembley.
Asked whether it suggested the group was not together, Ten Hag replied: “I wouldn’t point to that.
“Alejandro is a young player, has to learn a lot. He apologised for it and after that we move on.”
Experienced midfielder Casemiro has received criticism for his recent performances, with Sky Sports pundit Jamie Redknapp suggesting his display against Bournemouth last week was like he was playing in Soccer Aid.
But Ten Hag has backed the Brazilian and insisted he will bring United success.
“I think we needed the six when I arrived here and last season Casemiro was fantastic,” he said.
“I don’t think he ever scored so many goals as well but as a six, a holding midfielder, as a strategist, he was so important for the team.
“This season he struggled with a bad injury he never had in his career, but he is such a winner. See his career, always in his career he has won, everywhere he was there will be success.
“I trust he will give us success and I know he will need games and he will be better and I’m very confident about him.
“He is a fighter, why he also won big trophies, he’s a personality and he’s a very important player and he will give us success.”
Another player who criticised the club on social media was Jadon Sancho and the winger has since found his form on loan at Borussia Dortmund, who made it through to the Champions League semi-finals this week.
Ten Hag said nothing has changed surrounding his future because of his performances in Germany.
“We know Jadon Sancho is a fantastic football player, so that is not a surprise for us, that is not the issue,” he said.
“Of course, I follow international football and follow the players on loan at other clubs.
“It was a fantastic game, Dortmund against Atletico Madrid, great performance from Dortmund and for Jadon it’s good news. He made his contribution to the result for Dortmund.”
Ten Hag hopes to be able to have Scott McTominay and Antony back in the squad against Championship outfit Coventry on Sunday.
“Antony and Scott I expect them to be back,” he said. “Scott didn’t train all week, partial on Wednesday, today I expect him full. Antony did train all week.
“We have some problems. Harry (Maguire) had a small injury, he didn’t train this week so far but now he is back on the pitch. We expect him to be back for Sunday, I hope.”
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