While Cristiano Ronaldo’s departure from Manchester United last season came after his controversial interview with Piers Morgan, it appears as if the Portuguese star’s views may hold some credibility as per former United coach Mike Phelan.
During the interview, Ronaldo launched into a tirade of criticisms against his then-current club; a move that understandably infuriated the United hierarchy and fans worldwide.
From claims that Erik ten Hag wanted to force him out of the club to players who were not up to the standards required, the five-time Ballon d’Or winner left United with little choice other than to part ways with him.
Interestingly, some of the United faithful came to Ronaldo’s defence, with club legend Roy Keane being one of them.
“He [Ronaldo] certainly feels that he’s been unfairly treated. When you get that as a senior pro, it’s almost justified anger,” Keane stated with regard to Ronaldo’s lack of game time.
It wasn’t just Keane who was sympathetic with the former United goal machine. Former United assistant coach Mike Phelan also seemed to understand Ronaldo’s viewpoint, explaining that the player’s high standards led to disappointment when he noticed the mindsets exhibited by his Old Trafford teammates upon returning to the club for a second stint.
“The second time round, he came in a lot older and a lot more opinionated, strong-willed. He still had massively high standards and was terrific to work with.
“I liked it because he didn’t want his standards to drop, he wanted other people’s standards to come up. And sometimes you lose a few people along the way when that happens,” Phelan explained.
Although even more time has lapsed since Ronaldo’s fiery interview and subsequent exit from the club, it appears as if some of the issues mentioned by the Al-Nassr striker persists.
Despite their impressive FA Cup victory over Manchester City, United still seem to have a lot of work to do when it comes to improving the club’s training facilities – which was one of the major points highlighted by the Portuguese during his incendiary interview.
Today on talkSPORT, Mike Phelan returned to the subject of Ronaldo’s infamous interview, zooming in on the issue of the Carrington training complex’s inadequate conditions.
“I do think he had a point,” Phelan stated. “There were elements to the training ground that were tired, definitely.”
Again, Phelan spoke of Ronaldo’s high standards, particularly after playing for Real Madrid and Juventus. “Coming back, anybody would expect more. You want to move with the times. I don’t think he saw that pretty early in his career at United.”
With INEOS reportedly planning to overhaul the training complex, United fans will be hopeful that Carrington can be improved so as to compete with the club’s biggest rivals in the Premier League as well as the European continent.
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