Cristiano Ronaldo says he been betrayed by Man United

Gulf Today Report

Portuguese star Cristiano Ronaldo revealed that he felt "betrayed" by Manchester United, claiming that his Dutch coach Erik ten Hag and some senior executives of the English club are trying to force him out of Old Trafford in a fiery interview he gave on Sunday.

Manchester United quickly responded, stressing that it would take measures against its star, while the British newspaper “Metro” indicated that the club's management would fine the Portuguese player one million pounds, which is equivalent to two weeks' salary for the highest paid player in the English Premier League.

Manchester United said, “Manchester United are following up on what is being circulated in the media about an interview conducted by Cristiano Ronaldo, and the club confirm that it will not respond until all the facts are surveyed.”

The club continued, “Our focus is on preparing for the second half of the season, continuing to work and believing in ourselves, and maintaining the unity of the players, coach, technical staff, staff and fans.

The five-time Ballon d'Or winner has declined in the "Red Devils" squad since Ten Hag, from Ajax Amsterdam, took charge last May.

"I have no respect for him because he shows no respect for me," Ronaldo said of Ten Hag in an interview with Piers Morgan.

The 37-year-old, who is preparing to compete in the Qatar World Cup 2022, added, "Not only the coach, but also two or three people in the club. I felt betrayed.”

When asked if key executives at the club were trying to get him out, the Portuguese replied: "Yes, I felt betrayed and I felt that there were some people who didn't want me here, not only this year but also last year."

Ronaldo returned to United in August 2021 from Juventus, Italy.

The former Real Madrid star did not succeed in restoring his past glory with United, especially during the era of legendary coach Sir Alex Ferguson, when he won the English Premier League title three times, in addition to the European Champions League title and the Golden Ball award for the first time in his career.

Despite scoring 24 goals in all competitions last year, the Red Devils suffered a turbulent season that ended in sixth place in the Premier League, failing to qualify for the Champions League.

Media reports said at the time that Ronaldo tried to move before the start of the season, but no agreement happened with any club.

Ronaldo added: “Since Sir Alex left, I have not seen progress at the club. Nothing has changed.”

"I want the best for the club," he said. That's why I came back to Manchester United. But there are things that happen inside the club that do not help us reach the top, like Manchester City, Liverpool and even Arsenal at the moment... A club of this size should be in the top three in my opinion, and unfortunately it is not.”

United currently occupies fifth place in the local league standings, 11 points behind Arsenal.