It’s Cristiano Ronaldo’s week. At least the aging soccer superstar is getting the attention he no longer commands on the pitch thanks to his interview billing at Piers Morgan. In the conversation, he is remarkably narcissistic.
The Portuguese superstar Cristiano Ronaldo is at a crossroads in sport, but when it comes to social media, nobody can fool the five-time world footballer. And he knows exactly why that is. “You have to be charismatic,” Ronaldo said of his secret on the TV show Piers Morgan Uncensored. He is “proud” that nobody has more followers on Instagram than he does. “I’m a fruit that people want to bite into,” explained Ronaldo, “like a strawberry. Looking good helps too.”
The first excerpts of his “Bombshell Interview” had already been published on Sunday, Ronaldo had harshly criticized and provoked his Manchester United club. He even accused coach Erik ten Haag of “treason” and also dished out against current and former teammates such as Wayne Rooney and Gary Neville. On Wednesday, the first half of the 90-minute conversation was broadcast on TalkTV, the superstar was once again self-absorbed and only looked for mistakes in others.
He had never heard of Ralf Rangnick before he joined the Red Devils. “Of course not,” replied the 37-year-old when asked if he had known the German before. “None of the people I spoke to knew him.” It was a mistake to make Rangnick a manager in Manchester. “When you sack Ole Solskjaer you have to get a top team manager, not a sporting director,” Ronaldo said. Rangnick was Man United’s head coach from December 2021 to the summer of 2022.
Ronaldo confessed that he didn’t care that there were people who rejected him. “I take care of the people who like me. I don’t waste time on the people who don’t like me.” They are “not interesting for my life”. He’s not a guy “who likes to give advice because I’d rather be a role model. And I’m a role model. I’m the first to come and the last to go. I like to set a good example.”
Ronaldo also revealed that he almost joined city rivals Manchester City last year. “It was tight, it was tight. They wanted me,” he assured. City coach Pep Guardiola courted him, Ronaldo said. In the end, his past at United was the deciding factor in his return to the Red Devils. “Your heart, your feeling, the history you have experienced before makes the difference,” said the Portuguese. In addition, a conversation with club icon Sir Alex Ferguson influenced his decision. “He said: It’s impossible for you to go to Manchester City. I said: Okay, boss.”
National coach Fernando Santos has defended Ronaldo after his much-criticized interview at home in Portugal. “It’s a very personal interview that has to be respected. It’s about tolerance,” explained the coach of the World Cup participant to journalists in Lisbon. Ronaldo is a “free” person. The statements caused astonishment and displeasure not only in England. Ronaldo was also criticized by Portuguese media. Among other things, they spoke of an “own goal” by the 37-year-old, which also caused unrest in the Seleção’s World Cup preparations.
Santos, however, vigorously denied this. Ronaldo’s interview was “not an issue at all” among the national team, he asserted. “As (international) João Mário said yesterday: There are always four or five questions about Cristiano at our press conferences. But that (interview) has nothing to do with us at all, nothing, zero. He didn’t say anything about the national team. Here he has nobody is commenting on this topic.” Ronaldo will not be involved in Portugal’s last World Cup friendly against Nigeria on Thursday, the coach said. The 2016 European champions meet Uruguay, Ghana and South Korea in preliminary round group H in Qatar. At the two previous World Cups, Portugal failed in the round of 16.
