Cristiano Ronaldo risks ruining his legacy after TV interview slamming Manchester United
You either die a hero, or you live long enough to see yourself become the villain,” Harvey Dent says in Batman’s “The Dark Knight,” foreshadowing his descent from a hero to a villain.

Could the same be said about Cristiano Ronaldo?

It is no secret that the Portuguese superstar has not enjoyed a fairytale reunion with Manchester United ever since he returned to Old Trafford last year.

In the latest twist in the saga between Ronaldo and United, clips from an explosive interview with Piers Morgan for Talk TV were released this week in which Ronaldo said he had been “betrayed” by the club.

The full interview will be released over two nights on Wednesday and Thursday.
Specifically, Ronaldo is unhappy with new Manchester United manager Erik ten Hag, who dropped the forward after he left Manchester United’s game against Tottenham Hotspur last month before the end of the match.

“I don’t have respect for him because he doesn’t show respect for me,” Ronaldo said. “If you don’t have respect for me, I’m never gonna have respect for you.”

The end of an unhappy marriage
Ronaldo enjoyed unprecedented success at Manchester United after joining the club in the summer of 2003. Over the next six years, he would transform himself from a tricky winger into the best player in the world – collecting the first of his five Ballon d’Ors in 2008.

In that time, he won three Premier League titles, the FA Cup, two League Cups and the Champions League – a tournament with which Ronaldo has since become synonymous.

But since returning to England, he has not enjoyed the same success. Last season was Ronaldo’s first in 17 years in which he did not win any trophies, a stretch going back to his first stint at the club.

Since trying to force a move away from United over the summer, Ronaldo has featured sparingly, only making 16 appearances for the Red Devils.

That number is unlikely to increase after the Talk TV interview, which may well spell the end of his time in Manchester.

Ronaldo now says he feels like he was being forced out of the club by ten Hag, but what he failed to mention was that he was the one pushing for a move in the summer after United failed to qualify for the Champions League.

In the interview, he also reflected on his personal tragedy. Earlier this year, he and his partner, Georgina Rodríguez, announced their baby son had died.

Ronaldo also said his baby daughter ended up in the hospital this year, which he cited as the reason he missed the majority of preseason training with United.


But after taking aim at his coach, former teammates, the club, and the owners, many have been dismayed by Ronaldo’s swipes at his employer.

“I’m totally baffled and confused as to why he’s done this interview,” former England international turned pundit Jermaine Jenas said on BBC’s Match Of The Day 2.

“We’ve seen nothing but almost petulance throughout the whole year with the walking down the tunnel. Today he was supposedly ill. Now he’s doing interviews with Piers Morgan.

“He’s a frustrated player. Whether he feels lied to or not, today just doesn’t feel right to me. He has to be [done at United].”

Beth Tucker, a presenter for United fan channel The United Stand, appreciated Ronaldo’s criticism of the United ownership, but not of how he treated the club or ten Hag.

“If he wanted to hit the club, he should have come out against the Glazers. He shouldn’t have come out against the manager as well,” Tucker said on The United Stand.