Cristiano Ronaldo has poured more fuel on the fire in his row with Manchester United by claiming the Glazer family do not care about the club.
The 37-year-old striker seems hell bent on a collision course with his employers, giving a series of interviews with TalkTV about the breakdown in his relationship with senior figures at Old Trafford.
Ronaldo told interviewer Piers Morgan he has no relationship with the club's owners, the Glazers, and claimed the American family do not have the Premier League club's best interests at heart.
“The Glazers, they don’t care about the club. I mean, professional sport, as you know, Manchester is a marketing club,” he said.
“They will get money from the marketing – the sport, it’s, they don’t really care, in my opinion."
The Glazers, who bought United in 2005 in a leveraged buyout that saddled the club with a mountains of debt, have long been accused of taking more out financially than they have invested in terms of transfer funds or in redeveloping the club's crumbling Old Trafford ground.
United's net debt had grown by nearly 23 per cent to £515 million ($565.78 million) by September, while on the pitch the team has not won a trophy in more than five years.
“The fans, they’re always right. I think the fans should know the truth, should know that the players want the best for the club. I want the best for the club. This is why I came to Manchester United," Ronaldo added.
“This is why I love this club. But you have some things inside the club which don’t help Manchester [United] reach the top level as [Manchester] City, Liverpool and even now Arsenal, for example.
“Which is complicated, it’s difficult. It’s hard, in my opinion, it will be hard for Manchester [United] to be in the top of the game in the next two, three years.”
The Portugal international also took aim at former United teammates Wayne Rooney and Gary Neville after being on the receiving end of sharp criticism from the pair recently, adding "they are not my friends".
“I don’t understand. You should ask this question to him [Rooney] but I don’t know, why he criticises me so bad,” he said.
“He finished his career in [his] 30s. So, I’m still playing high-level. I’m not going to say that I’m looking better than him, which is true, but …
“It’s hard to listen to that kind of criticism and negativity from people who play with you, for example, Gary Neville, as well.
“People can have [their] own opinion but they don’t really know what’s going on. For example, inside the training ground and Carrington or even my life. They have to listen to my point of view as well. Because it’s easy to criticise but if you don’t know the whole story, it’s easy.”
Ronaldo's latest bombshell comes hot on the heels of Sunday's first interview with TalkTV in which he said he felt "betrayed" by senior figures at United and that he had no respect for head coach Erik ten Hag.
Further clips of Ronaldo’s interview were released on Monday in which he explained why he did not go on United’s pre-season tour to Australia in July.
He revealed partner Georgina Rodriguez and baby daughter Bella Esmeralda were hospitalised with a “big problem”, only a matter of months after the death of their newborn son, but claimed he was not fully believed by the United hierarchy.
“I spoke with the director and the president of Manchester United and they kind of didn’t believe that something was going wrong, which make me feel bad,” Ronaldo told Piers Morgan Uncensored.
“I am never, ever going to change the health of my family for a football. Never. Now or 10 years behind or forward and it is something that really hurt me because they doubt my words.
“That I struggle, especially Bella and Geo who had one week in hospital because of a big problem and I didn’t go to the pre-season tour because of that.
“I think it was not fair to leave my family for the pre-season. This is why I didn’t go.”
A statement from the club, released on Monday afternoon, read: “Manchester United notes the media coverage regarding an interview by Cristiano Ronaldo. The club will consider its response after the full facts have been established.
“Our focus remains on preparing for the second half of the season and continuing the momentum, belief and togetherness being built among the players, manager, staff, and fans.”
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Cristiano Ronaldo celebrates putting Manchester United 2-1 ahead against Everton for his 700th club goal at Goodison Park on October 9, 2022. PA -
Cristiano Ronaldo scores the 700th club goal of his career. EPA -
Cristiano Ronaldo celebrates scoring. AFP -
Alex Iwobi celebrates giving Everton the lead against Manchester United at Goodison on October 9, 2022. Reuters -
Alex Iwobi celebrates scoring their first goal with Anthony Gordon and Neal Maupay. Reuters -
Everton manager Frank Lampard celebrates their first goal. Action Images -
Manchester United's Antony levels at 1-1. PA -
Antony celebrates after scoring. Getty
