JAKARTA - Cristiano Ronaldo finally opened up about the situation at Manchester United. After a long silence, the Portuguese player then took out all his friends.
Ronaldo openly said he felt betrayed by senior Manchester United figures and wanted to be eliminated since Erik ten Hag took over the manager's seat.
The 37-year-old told senior sports journalist Piers Morgan in the midst of his preparations for Qatar to play for Portugal's national team at the 2022 World Cup this month.
"Yes, (I want to be eliminated) not only by the coach, but by two other three people around the club. I feel betrayed," said the former Real Madrid player. "I'm not supposed to say [they tried to get rid of me], I don't know, but yes, I feel betrayed. I feel that some people don't want me here not just this year, but last year too," he added.
Ronaldo had his second difficult season at Old Trafford after becoming the club's top scorer last season, 24 goals in all competitions. He then asked to leave after they failed to play in the European Champions League.
That desire made the player with the initials CR7 exiled from team activities last month, especially after he refused to become a substitute when Manchester United won 2-0 over Tottenham Hotspur in the Premier League continued.
Ten Hag prefers to give Marcus Rashford, Anthony Martial, and Anthony Elanga a chance to appear in the Man United attack line this season. Therefore, so far Ronaldo has only appeared in four league games and scored one goal.
Last month, Ten Hag admitted that he chose not to include Ronaldo when Manchester City lost 3-6 to rivals Manchester City because he wanted to honor the player's career. Ronaldo was even more annoyed with the Dutch coach's decision to replace him against Newcastle United two weeks later.
"I don't respect him because he doesn't show respect for me. If you don't respect me, I will never forgive you," Ronaldo said.
The owner of the five Ballon d'Or further said that his move from Juventus to MU last season was due to Sir Alex Ferguson's role. The legendary coach assured him even though he knew no progress in the Red Devils since he left.
Whereas at that time Ronaldo was linked to moving to Manchester City's rival club. The Portugal captain then chose to return to Old Trafford following the Scottish coach's advice.
"I followed my heart," he said. "[Sir Alex] said to me, 'It's impossible for you to come to Manchester City,' and I said, 'Okay, boss," Ronaldo said.
"Since Sir Alex left, I haven't seen any evolution at the club. The progress is zero. After sacking Ole (Gunnar Solskjaer), they brought in sporting director Ralf Rangnick, something no one understands. This person is not even a coach," he added.
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