As a result, here we were, peering into Cristiano Ronaldo's home and listening to "the truth," which was the interview he had promised to give back in August but which has only recently been made public.
Since it had been such a long time since Ronaldo's threat to go public - the 16th of August, to be exact - officials at Manchester United believed they might have gotten away with it.
But alas, no such luck. Piers Morgan was asking Ronaldo a few questions while he wore a black blazer over a crisp white t-shirt while he was being interviewed. In the beginning of the interview, Ronaldo explained to us that he had decided to do the interview not only because he liked Morgan but also because it was time for him to say something.
It most certainly established the tone for the subsequent ninety minutes of conversation, during which numerous inconsistencies were allowed to pass unchallenged by the host, who was simply pleased to be able to hold court with a person of Ronaldo's stature. According to him, this was a football interview that barely qualified as an interview at all, despite the fact that this was the interview that everyone wanted to get.
When Ronaldo talked about his family, about the tragic death of his baby son during childbirth, and about the fears he had when Bella, the twin girl that survived, suffered from bronchitis in the summer, he experienced moments of deep emotion. These moments included moments when Ronaldo talked about his family, about the tragic death of his baby son during childbirth. When viewed from that vantage point, it is impossible to feel anything but compassion for Ronaldo and the year he has had away from the field.
However, when it came to his time at United over the past few months, many of the points that he made simply did not make sense.
On Tuesday night, we heard Ronaldo tell us that he wanted to "lead by example," and he also lamented the fact that his teammates lacked his professionalism and dedication, as well as the fact that they rarely turned to him for advice. On Wednesday, he elaborated that he was much too talented to be a substitute player because doing so would mean playing for a total of only three minutes. Some example.
It is not likely to come as a shock to Ronaldo that his teammates are turning their backs on him and do not anticipate that he will come back to the club. That was just one of the many inconsistencies that emanated from Ronaldo's version of the truth, but the compliant Morgan, a self-proclaimed Ronaldo superfan and a social media sycophant to the 37-year-old, did not pick up on any of them. He was a sycophant to the 37-year-old.
The fact that Ronaldo decided to finally speak out in public is embarrassing given that he made some insightful observations. Since the departure of Sir Alex Ferguson, the club has not been able to advance to new heights because they have made poor choices in the recruitment of players and managers and have waited too long to upgrade their facilities. The Glazer family is to blame for that, and Ronaldo was correct to direct his criticism at their ownership of the team.
The issue is that everything was far too open and honest. It is important not to forget that Ronaldo spent the first part of his career at the club when the Glazers were in charge. He observed the same issues the year before. He had the opportunity to make these points during the previous season, and whether he did so through the media or on social media, they would have carried an enormous amount of weight. At that point, it was possible that the Glazers' condition had reached its end stage.
They will instead become distracted by Ronaldo's decision to turn the heat up on his club and his manager, Erik ten Hag. He knew that criticizing the Glazers would be good for their public relations, so he did it. It takes a leap of faith to believe that he actually subscribes to those beliefs.
When Ronaldo arrived at Manchester United last summer, the club was in disarray, mismanaged by Ole Gunnar Solskjaer, and on the verge of disintegrating. Ronaldo said nothing.
There is not a single person who attends matches on a regular basis at Old Trafford who does not believe that Ten Hag has turned around a sinking ship. That is, with the exception of Ronaldo. It is important to note that the timing of this interview does not occur during a period in which the club are at a low ebb; rather, it occurs during a period in which Ronaldo is at a low ebb.
On Wednesday, he was questioned about his refusal to come on against Tottenham and his early exits from the stadium twice this season, the first time against Rayo Vallecano (when some of his teammates also left), and the second time against Spurs. Both instances occurred this season. He began by stating that he was sorry to go, but then he immediately contradicted himself and gave the impression that he didn't regret leaving at all.
Then he went on to explain why he chose not to come on for United when they were winning 2-0 against Tottenham and having their best performance since Ten Hag took over.
"It is against the rules for a coach to play me for even three minutes during a game. I'm sorry, but I don't play games like that "he said. A few minutes earlier, while he was still seated in the same chair and having the same conversation with the same individual, he had stated, "I like to lead by example." There was not even a passing comment on how ironic the situation was.
Ronaldo claimed that Ten Hag was attempting to "provoke" him with this action. "Okay, you won't put me up against Manchester City out of respect for your career, but you will put me up against Tottenham for three minutes. It doesn't make sense…, "After that, he stated.
When United were losing to City by a score of 6-1, Ten Hag decided that it would not be right to use Ronaldo. Old Trafford was ecstatic as they led Spurs 2-0 and continued to dominate the match. Once more, the contradiction was allowed to dissipate into the ether without being addressed.
Ronaldo also asserted that the fact that he was effectively suspended by the club, that he did not play against Chelsea, and that he trained separately from the first team was a "strategy from the club for me to react that way." Ronaldo said this in an interview. After the forward's refusal to come off the bench during the match against Tottenham, the feeling in the locker room was that he had no choice but to be disciplined, as no other player can get away with such a flagrant breach of discipline and no one can let it slide.
Ronaldo paints a picture in which these strategies are being used by the club to provoke him or force him out, but he overlooks the fact that he was named captain 18 days after he refused to take to the field after he had previously refused to participate. Not only that, but he wasn't questioned about it either.
Even though his camp leaked stories two days before Ten Hag's first pre-season training session that he wanted to leave, one of the most compelling faultlines here is the idea that Ronaldo feels he is being forced out of United, and this is one of the most compelling faultlines in this situation. Morgan was content to be fed the narrative that the club is attempting to coerce him out of his position, despite the fact that it is obvious that he was not asked about it.
After Ronaldo made it clear that he wanted to leave the team in the summer, there was an offer made for him. The offer that was made by a club in Saudi Arabia was turned down. However, the Portugal international claims that there was interest in more than just that, and that the choice to remain at Old Trafford was his alone to make.
"I have many clubs, not many, but a few clubs, that want me to sign with them, but I haven't gone to any of them because I am content where I am. This is an unalterable fact, "he said.
After his camp had made it clear in the beginning that he wanted to leave to play in the Champions League, it is reasonable to assume that he had changed his mind about staying and now preferred to remain. Because he was not questioned about it, naturally, we do not know the answer. The notion that he stayed at the club because he felt comfortable there ran counter to everything he had said about the club's failure to make progress a little less than an hour earlier.
There was still time to discuss the World Cup and the decision to hold it in Qatar, which has been met with much opposition. "To tell you the truth, I anticipate a competitive tournament with all of the national teams, as well as the people who will be traveling to Qatar. My thoughts are on Qatar; they are ready, "he said.
In comparison to Bruno Fernandes' response to Sky Sports on Sunday, this was very close to being a cowardly act. The statement was hazy and lacked conviction, despite the fact that many players have felt a responsibility to speak out about human rights issues and LGBTQ+ issues. However, he was not put under as much pressure as he should have been.
Morgan had said to Ronaldo somewhere around the middle of the interview, "Your problem is that you're too famous." This was not Oprah Winfrey, though. This was not an interview; rather, it was a PR stunt that had been meticulously scripted, and it raised more questions than it answered.
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Ronaldo interview