Cristiano Ronaldo has opened up on his assessment of Manchester United’s struggles after one calendar year under Rúben Amorim’s coaching.
Cristiano Ronaldo’s relationship with Manchester United fans is complicated. While many still regard him as a club legend for his brilliant first spell between 2003 and 2009, his return years later divided opinion.
Twelve years after leaving Old Trafford for Real Madrid, the Portuguese forward came back under Ole Gunnar Solskjær in a £12 million move from Juventus, scoring 24 goals and registering three assists in 39 appearances.
However, following Solskjær’s departure and Erik ten Hag’s arrival in 2022, tensions grew between player and manager. Ronaldo’s explosive, unauthorised interview in late 2022 effectively ended his second stint at the club, just 16 months after his return.
He now plays for Al Nassr in the Saudi Pro League, where he has notched 102 goals in 115 games and will turn 40 in February. Across both spells at United, Ronaldo recorded 145 goals and 64 assists in 346 appearances.
Ronaldo feels United still doesn’t have a structure
While the fairytale return of Ronaldo in 2021 did not quite go as many had hoped, Ronaldo has been open in stating that he still shares a deep love for the Old Trafford club.
In a new interview with Piers Morgan Uncensored, the Portuguese legend has explained he still feels United do not have a good enough structure in place.
“For me, I’m sad because of the club, that’s one of the most important clubs in the world, and a club that I still have in my heart because of the obvious reasons,” he said.
“You have to follow with the intelligent people, smart people, to create a base for the future as Manchester United have [done] so many years ago. Nicky Butt, Gary, Roy Keane, Beckham, they became big players but they had youth. So Manchester United right now, they don’t have a structure.
“I hope that changes in the future, present/future, because the potential of the club, it’s amazing. It’s one of the most important clubs of the century.”
Ronaldo feels Amorim is doing his best at United
Ronaldo is known to have a close relationship with United’s boss Rúben Amorim, with the pair having played together in Academy football as well as with the Portuguese national side between 2010 and 2014.
While Ronaldo went on to call for change at Old Trafford, he did not specifically target Amorim, but instead pointed his finger at some of the players in a brutal claim that they do not understand the club’s magnitude.
“I repeat, Manchester United is still in my heart, I love that club, but we have all to be honest and look for ourselves and say, listen, they are not in a good path, so they need to change,” Ronaldo continued. “And it’s not only about the coach and players, in my opinion.”
Read More: Carlo Ancelotti agrees with Ruben Amorim about ‘very good’ Casemiro amid Man Utd contract talks
When asked for his thoughts on Amorim, Ronaldo replied by explaining the harsh truth that the 40-year-old will not be able to produce miracles.
“He’s doing his best. What are you going to do? Miracles? Miracles is impossible. We say in Portugal, miracles is only in Fatima… And you’re not going to do miracles.
“Even the players, Manchester United have good players, but they don’t have, some of them, the mind [of] what Manchester United is.”
Make sure to follow UtdDistrict on X, Instagram, Facebook, YouTube, and TikTok to never miss out on any of our Manchester United content. Our podcast, What the Devil?, is streamed live every Thursday at 14:00 pm (GMT) on the United View YouTube channel.