2 weeks Ago By Nnanna Mba
Graeme Souness has assessed Manchester United, just over two years after their public row with Cristiano Ronaldo, who had slammed the club's owners and manager. He believes they are now suffering from the consequences of rejecting Ronaldo's comments about his second stint at Old Trafford. The Portugal legend returned in 2021 with much pomp and show, and made the headlines with two goals against Newcastle United on his second debut.
But the story fell flat as the team went on a consistently average display, which culminated in the sacking of Ole Gunnar Solskjaer. It continued its downward slide under Ralf Rangnick, before Erik ten Hag joined the club as manager and ended up at loggerheads with Ronaldo. Afterwards, the legendary striker gave a tell-all interview to Piers Morgan, condemning those at the top and Ten Hag, leading to an end to his time at the club in November 2022.
Looking over the time that has since passed, Souness reflected on Cristiano Ronaldo's exit as a lost opportunity for Manchester United. The former Liverpool midfielder explained to The Mirror (via Manchester Evening News): Souness continued: Manchester United are set to finish in the worst position of their entire Premier League history after tasting defeat 15 times in 33 games this season. Back in 2024, Cristiano Ronaldo sided with Ruben Amorim, while hinting he could solve the difficulties at the club if he were in charge.
The former Manchester United forward spoke about the Red Devils at the Globe Soccer Awards in Dubai. Ronaldo argued that the troubles at United are bigger than the matters on the pitch, as he insisted that Amorim was not the problem at Old Trafford. The legendary Portuguese striker explained (via GOAL): Cristiano Ronaldo has since admitted that he would prefer to be the owner of a club, rather than take up a hands-on role like management after he quits playing.
Speaking about United, he also added: Cristiano Ronaldo has become the first player to hit the 900-career-goal mark, and despite being 40 years old, he looks intent on crossing 1000 goals before he retires. The legendary striker plays for Al-Nassr in Saudi Arabia, where he has scored 90 goals in 100 appearances. Nnanna Mba Nnanna is a European and international football journalist who has been covering news and transfer rumors at Sportskeeda for around 5 years.
A keen interest in reading and football since an early age, watching games at local stadiums with family paved the way for him to take up the sport professionally. Nnanna’s favorite club is English team Bolton Wanderers because he witnessed Nigeria legend Jay-Jay Okocha's play for them between 2002 and 2006. His favorite footballer is Ronaldinho due to the Brazilian's love for the sport and admires Pep Guardiola for redefining football tactics.
As a former literature student, Nnanna reckons that the best way of connecting with the readers is to add a bit of empathy in his writing, and relies on trusted websites like Transfermarkt and WhoScored for his articles. Lionel Messi lifting the World Cup trophy in 2022 is Nnanna’s favorite FIFA World Cup moment, and also follows Major League Soccer due to the diminutive Argentine. He strongly believes that Kylian Mbappe and Erling Haaland could be the next two superstars in the same light as legendary pair Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo.
When not writing, he likes to play Football Manager and other simulation games. Quick Links.
