Former Manchester United striker Cristiano Ronaldo had started acting out and irritating everyone at the club long before the arrival of Erik ten Hag.
Ronaldo left the club under acrimonious circumstances after giving a public interview to Piers Morgan, where he criticized the club, Ten Hag and his teammates.
United found the interview too poisonous and decided to end their relationship with the 37-year-old.
Publico reports that the interview was the last straw that led to the breakup of Ronaldo and Jorge Mendes’ relationship.
For the first time, Mendes was not involved in Ronaldo’s transfer to Al-Nassr and the longtime ally didn’t even keep up with it.
Mendes strongly advised Ronaldo not to do the interview, but the striker ignored him and moved on, a move that has now backfired in spectacular fashion for the Portuguese.
Publico details that, however, Ronaldo’s bad behavior began long before the ill-fated interview and dates back to when Ole Gunnar Solskjaer left the club and Ralf Rangnick took over.
However, United remained silent, refusing to release details of Ronaldo’s repeated fouls to the public.
However, Ronaldo found his match in Ten Hag, who refused to indulge his petulance before sanctioning his release from the club’s books.
Publico adds that Ronaldo came to the World Cup hoping to dominate and prove his doubters wrong, in an effort to make Europe’s elite come begging.
It didn’t go according to plan. Ronaldo only scored one goal, a penalty and his poor performances and childish behavior made him lose his place in the team against Gonçalo Ramos.
“The [Ronaldo] He arrived in Qatar with the normal performance of a 38-year-old player without rhythm and, even worse, replicating the behavior of Manchester United.
“The players and the FPF silenced almost everything, but the captain was a constant source of irritation, especially after Portugal-South Korea and rapidly accelerating inflammation after Uruguay-Portugal.”
In addition to his behavior on the Portugal pitch, Ronaldo also slept with Ricardo Regufe, a close ally of his who also worked for the Selecao.
Regufe’s handling of both the Portuguese camp and Ronaldo’s created a strange climate and a lack of clarity.
Speaking at his Al-Nassr presentation, Ronaldo confirmed that there were offers from Europe, something that Público vehemently refutes.
The publication reports that Mendes knew the European market was closing fast for the aging Ronaldo and only United were willing to have him in their ranks.
However, a brash Ronaldo refused to accept his reality.
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