“I am excited for the new experience in a different league and in a different country, the vision that Al-Nassr has is very inspiring.”
The words of Cristiano Ronaldo yesterday, the man who wanted to leave Manchester United because he wanted to play football at a higher level. What is the altitude of Saudi Arabia?
He delivered the speech after signing a 2.5-year contract worth a staggering £165m a year (source: The Telegraph).
“Is it also because you want to keep playing at the highest level, you want to play in the Champions League, you want to keep breaking records? …If it was just about money, you’d be in Saudi Arabia earning this king’s ransom, but that’s not what motivates you. Do you want to stay on top?
“Exactly, because I still believe that I can score many goals.”
“If it was just about money, you’d be in Saudi Arabia winning this king’s ransom, but that’s not what motivates you. You want to stay on top.” -Piers Morgan
This interview was a PR disaster for #Ronaldo https://t.co/1PuxAiNrbQ pic.twitter.com/YszlVuGYMs
— Tapas (@IyerTapas) December 31, 2022
Those were his words to Piers Morgan just a few weeks ago in the explosive interview he orchestrated to force United to terminate his contract.
The hypocrisy of a man who was once an Old Trafford legend is breathtaking.
United fans, and perhaps the club itself, were tricked into believing a fairy tale. It was one that had him on the brink of joining Manchester City’s neighbors and rivals, only to heroically answer a desperate phone call from Sir Alex Ferguson, begging him to turn his back on the chance to return to United in his own version. Palm Sunday and help them become great again.
We believed in the romance of this story and welcomed him back into our club and into our hearts as our savior, a hero who put loyalty and club before personal gain.
The only thing was that City were never really interested in him. Not seriously, not even seriously. It was all apparently a story concocted by Ronaldo’s agent Jorge Mendes to get his player out of struggling Juventus and back into the Premier League with a big fat paycheck. Mission accomplished.
If City had really been after him, it is now clear that is where he would have gone, without even a permit from him. No phone call from Fergie would have stopped him. Fergie would probably still be listening to musak now, 18 months later, while she’s on hold.
As soon as United failed to qualify for the Champions League, Ronaldo abandoned the project of “restoring his club to greatness” like a hot potato. Because he was never about United. It was always all about Cristiano.
It was clear to everyone that he only chose to stay this season because he had failed to attract a Champions League club in the summer. But United stayed humble, supported him and tried to make it work, even after he refused to be involved in virtually all pre-season preparations. But what thanks did United get for that loyalty? Sulking when he didn’t start, leaving matches, horrible body language on the pitch, refusing to come on as a substitute and the coup de grace, an exposure interview, a football no-no akin to breaking the magic circle, one with Piers Morgan of all people, one who humiliated the club and disrupted Erik ten Hag’s first season at a time when it was all starting to come together.
“Cristiano Ronaldo’s departure from #MUFC was always about one thing: over £87.5m a year was always his motivation,” says journalist Rob Blanchette.
“No elite team in Europe wanted him, and he, Jorge Mendes and Piers Morgan knew it, as did Erik ten Hag…”
Cristiano Ronaldo’s departure from #MUFC was always about one thing: over £87.5m a year was always his motivation. No elite team in Europe wanted him, and he, Jorge Mendes and Piers Morgan knew it, as did Erik ten Hag…
Good luck to Al Nassr, #CR7. ???? pic.twitter.com/9tPxEHuNKS
– Rob Blanchette (@_Rob_B) December 30, 2022
Top United’s The Muppetiers Twitter account noted: “If you thought there was any honesty in Ronaldo’s interview, that should go now.
“Where are all those offers? It’s sad to see a great player in denial of his decline and his attitude probably drove away any prospects in Europe.”
If you thought there was any honesty in Ronaldo’s interview, that should go away now. Where are all those deals? It’s sad to see a great player in denial of his decline and his attitude probably drove away any prospects in Europe.
— UnitedMuppetiers (@Muppetiers) December 30, 2022
It seems karmic that despite all his maneuvering to find a way to win his personal battle to have better stats and break more records than Lionel Messi, Ronaldo had to watch his rival lift the World Cup and be proclaimed the greatest player of all. times like him. he himself limped off into the sunset and signed the deal with Saudi Arabia.
In doing so, he has captured the only record his nemesis was still capable of winning: the world’s highest-paid player.
Cristiano Ronaldo’s earnings in Al-Nassr ????
???? £173m a year ???? £14.4m a month ???? £3.6m a week ???? £514k a day pic.twitter.com/XyHJOhQl76
– Mirror Football (@MirrorFootball) December 30, 2022
Congratulations, Christian. We hope it was worth it.
As for your legacy at Manchester United, and this is not a sour grape, in most people’s opinion, you were not the greatest player to have played for the club. You wouldn’t even get into many fans’ greatest United XI of all time. Edwards, Best, Law, Charlton, Robson, Schmeichel, Scholes, Cantona, Van Nistelrooy, Rooney, and even Ryan Giggs are just a few who can claim alongside their own. Don’t fool yourself otherwise.
And so the circus comes to an end. Goodbye Ronald. We won’t forget you, but we won’t miss you either.
