‘There was frustration’: Former Manchester United coach reveals why Criano Ronaldo lost the dressing room | Football News
Criano Ronaldo’s return to Manchester United in 2021 was met with great fanfare and excitement.
However, Ronaldo’s second spell at the club has been marred dressing room problems. In addition, Ronaldo’s public outbursts have also caused problems and ultimately led to his exit after a fall out with manager Erik Ten Hag.
Former Manchester United coach Mike Phelan, who worked with Ronaldo during that period, revealed how the Portuguese superstar’s high standards may have led to losing the support of some of his team-mates.
“The second time round, he came in a lot older and a lot more opinionated, strong-willed,” Phelan said.
“He still had massively high standards and was terrific to work with. But I’d probably say a tougher mindset. He had been at Man Utd, he had been Portugal’s ever-present, he had been at Madrid,” Phelan was quoted as saying the Mirror.
Mike Phelan on Criano Ronaldo:
“He didn’t want his standards to drop, he wanted other people’s standards to come up. When he pushed and pushed hard, he didn’t get much reaction”
He was made the villain to protect spoilt brats… pic.twitter.com/q2Ruh718mN
— Martien 🇳🇱 (@MartienBall) September 18, 2023
“I liked it because he didn’t want his standards to drop, he wanted other people’s standards to come up. And sometimes you lose a few people along the way when that happens. I remember certain times when he pushed and pushed hard, and he didn’t get much reaction or much response. And there was frustration.” he added.Most Read
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“When you deal with top, top people, it’s about them and where they can finish and where they can get to. They want to look back and go ‘wow, that was successful’. And he probably realised, and I don’t know as I never had that conversation with him, that he couldn’t do it at Manchester United. So his challenges were elsewhere.
It is important to note that Ronaldo is still a world-class player, and he is still making a significant contribution in Saudi Arabia for Al Nassr.
“He’s still playing international football, yes he’s in Saudi Arabia, but he’s still playing and scoring goals. He is doing all the things we knew he could do at Manchester United.
