Cristiano Ronaldo has labelled his Manchester United return a ‘disaster’ as he says his teammates lack dedication and the club has failed to evolve.
Ronaldo returned to Old Trafford in the summer of 2021, scoring 27 goals in 51 games since, but his return has been rocky at best.
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The Portugal international tried to force an exit in the summer but found no possible suitors, and was recently dropped by Erik ten Hag after he left the stadium early in the win over Tottenham.
And according to a new book, ‘Messi vs Ronaldo: One Rivalry, Two GOATs, and the Era That Remade the World’s Game’ (via The Sun), Ronaldo revealed to an executive at a FIFA event that his return was a ‘disaster’.
The Portuguese star was unhappy under Ralf Rangnick, who took interim charge of the club after Ole Gunnar Solskjaer’s sacking last November.
But Ronaldo also took issue with the commitment of his teammates, saying they lack dedication to stay in shape, and the fact that the Red Devils have failed to ‘evolve as a club’ since he left for Real Madrid way back in 2009.
In particular, he believes United should have invested more in their Carrington training complex, which pales in comparison to other top European teams.
Ahead of Sunday’s game with West Ham United, Ten Hag – who won’t take kindly to Ronaldo’s thoughts – refused to guarantee the player a start.
“It’s up to him,” he said when asked if the veteran was capable of matching last season’s goal tally.
“But I think when you collect all the chances he creates, the team creates for him in the last weeks, you see he’s still capable to get in the right positions and he’s still capable of finishing them.
“I think it’s possible, yeah. “I know some see it like this but I don’t have a Europe team and I don’t have a Premier League team.
“I look at the opponent and what we need, what suits the opponent. Now I have to focus on West Ham United for Sunday.
“We will pick the team to start but also have a plan B or plan C in the pocket to win that game. “That’s what we need finally, to win games, and for that we not only need 11 players, we need the whole squad.”
