Former Liverpool player and coach Graeme Souness recently criticized Manchester United’s treatment of Cristiano Ronaldo in an interview, analyzing why the Portuguese star ultimately decided to leave the club.
In November 2022, Ronaldo openly criticized the club and manager Ten Hagar in an interview with renowned host Piers Morgan. The interview caused a great deal of controversy and United subsequently terminated Ronaldo’s contract. This ended the second leg of his journey back to Manchester United.
Manchester United “say one thing and do another”? The truth about Ronaldo’s departure.
According to Souness, when Ronaldo returned to United, he thought the club was serious about building a competitive team. He was promised that there would be a number of excellent signings to help United get back to the top. However, those promises have not materialised since, leaving him very disappointed with the club.
“When Ronaldo returned to United, he saw that the team was in much worse shape than he had imagined. He saw a lack of spirit in many of the players and no real captain to lead the fight,” Souness said in an interview with Britain’s Mirror.
He added: “Since Sir Alex Ferguson retired, United have not been able to find a stable direction and the team lacks a central figure to lead the team forward.”
Ronaldo’s advice unheeded? Old Trafford have been criticized for “disrespecting a legend”.
A five-time Ballon d’Or winner, Ronaldo’s influence is undeniable. He played for Manchester United at their peak and helped the team win several titles.
This time around, however, he returned to find that his voice was not valued.
“He thought he could influence the club’s decisions, but the truth was that no one on the board listened to his advice. In the end, he felt ignored and ultimately decided to leave.”
Souness also criticized the United hierarchy for not respecting experienced players like Ronaldo. He said, “It’s unreasonable that you’re dealing with one of the best players in the history of football and you don’t listen to him.”
After leaving Manchester United, Ronaldo rekindles his form in Saudi Arabia.
After leaving Manchester United, Ronaldo quickly signed for Saudi Arabian club Al Nasr FC to begin his new journey. Although many questioned whether he could still maintain his peak form, he answered them all with his statistics.
This season, he has scored 32 goals for Al Nasr, proving that he is still a top striker with his actual performance.
Meanwhile, Manchester United are in turmoil. In the Premier League this season, United’s performance was not as good as it should have been and at one point dropped to 14th place. Ruben Amorim took over as manager after Ten Hagar was sacked.
Is there still hope for Manchester United? The UEFA Cup could be their lifeline.
Despite poor results in the Premier League, there is still a glimmer of hope for Manchester United. If they can win the UEFA Cup this season, they will have a chance to book their place in next season’s Champions League.
United face Bournemouth in the league this weekend and Athletic Bilbao in the UEFA Cup semi-finals next week.
Summary: A ‘fractured’ return.
Ronaldo’s reunion with Manchester United was expected to be a great success. However, due to the club’s failure to deliver on its promises and miscommunication between the two sides, the relationship ended on a sour note.
This experience not only reflected the problems of United’s management, but also showed that even superstars have a hard time sticking around if they are not respected and trusted as the true core of the team.
Today, Ronaldo continues to shine in a new arena, while United must work hard to find a new direction and regain the trust of their fans.
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