“Set Those Standards in Dressing Room” – Cristiano Ronaldo’s Controversial Fallout Addressed by Ex-Man United Manager

We all know how things went between Cristiano Ronaldo and Manchester United. The Al Nassr skipper severed all ties with the club in his last season at Old Trafford. Cristiano gave scathing comments slamming the manager and the club in an interview with Piers Morgan. His words did not sit down well with the club as they ousted the player from the team.

Ex-Manchester United coach Mike Phelan who was present with the team during the time talked about the fallout between Cristiano and the club on his appearance on TalkSport. Phelan claimed Cristiano Ronaldo’s arrival brought a lot of expectations onto the club. The player too wanted a lot from the club and was not happy with how things went down at Old Trafford.

The former coach claimed, “The problem is you are a player. Your domain is the dressing room and you need to set those standards in the dressing room. I’m sure he tried to do that but the opposite of that is you can’t dictate after that. I’m not saying Cristiano tried to do that. But you can’t dictate what goes on outside of your environment.”

Phelan however stated that he understood where Cristiano Ronaldo spoke from considering his position at the club. The former Manchester United star expected a lot from the club following his return and was not too pleased with the state of affairs at Old Trafford.

Mike Phelan comments on Cristiano Ronaldo’s interview with Piers Morgan

You could almost smell that something wasn’t right between Cristiano Ronaldo and Erik ten Hag at Manchester United. It all boiled down to Ronaldo’s interview with Piers Morgan right before the World Cup where he tore into the Dutchman and his former employers.

Phelan commented on Cristiano’s infamous interview stating, “There wasn’t a massive reaction in the environment, it was more of a case of why did he do it. Why with Piers, it was more about Piers than Ronaldo in a way. But he did speak from the heart and he explained very categorically that he was disappointed with what he had come back to. Yeah, I think he had a point. You know he’s a high maintainable player Cristiano. Massive stands and you know he gained a lot of experience at Manchester United left gained more and coming back anyone would expect more!”

Apart from things happening around the club, Cristiano Ronaldo was not too pleased with his position under Erik ten Hag. The Portuguese superstar dropped down the pecking order following the Dutchman’s arrival, spending most of the time on the bench. This did not work for CR7 and he made it known in very clear words that the manager did not deserve any respect. Talk about a fiery fallout!