Gary Neville says ‘angry and frustrated’ Cristiano Ronaldo ‘needed to adapt’ to Man United team-mates who were ‘not at his level’ – who hopes his old team-mate realizes that That his criticism ‘came from a good place’

Gary Neville has claimed Cristiano Ronaldo’s failure to ‘adapt’ during his second stint at Manchester United led to his inevitable exit.

Ronaldo’s return to the Red Devils ended in crisis when he publicly fell out with manager Eric ten Hag following his surprise interview with Piers Morgan.

Tensions initially rose when the five-time Ballon d’Or winner refused to come off the bench during the 2-0 win over Tottenham and, instead, walked down the tunnel.

And now, former teammate Neville has objected to the 38-year-old’s return to Old Trafford and questioned the ‘leadership’ shown by Ronaldo at that time.

Speaking to Marca, Neville said: ‘I think he did very well in terms of goals. He has a character and a personality in which he does not accept the other part.

‘I criticized him because my opinion is that, when you’re a leader in the locker room and you’re a leader in world football, there are different ways of teaching the young players in the team, different ways of giving advice. There are different methods and methods of coaching. Who are not of your level.

‘I think Cristiano should have modified his leadership style at United and adapted it to the players in the locker room who needed advice, training and level up.’

However, Ronaldo was a key component of United’s team during the 2021–22 season a year later, making only four starts in his first ten matches.

Ultimately, the former Real Madrid and Juventus star was sold to Saudi Pro League side Al-Nassr – for whom he recently scored two goals in a win over Al-Ahli.

Neville added: ‘Cristiano became frustrated with him, he became angry at him and it showed sometimes during games and in the end, it became kind of a confrontation.’

‘I’ve played with him, his level is incredible and he’s worked just as hard as any other player I’ve played with; What you see in Cristiano is talent and hard work.

‘He wants to win, he’s desperate to win, he wants to score goals and he wants to be the best player in the world, so I think it’s been tough for him, probably because he’s reaching the end of his career. Has gone. Teams that didn’t have the level we had seen before’.

During Ronaldo’s brilliant interview with Piers Morgan in November 2022, the forward Accused Gary Neville of using him to boost his profile.

‘Hearing former colleagues or team-mates criticizing you when they only see one point of view,’ Ronaldo told Morgan. this is easy.

‘It’s easy to criticize, I don’t know if you have any job in television that they have to criticize to become more famous. I don’t really understand it.

The forward was also seen ignoring Neville ahead of Man United’s clash with West Ham in October 2022.

Reflecting on Ronaldo’s reaction to Neville, the former full-back said: ‘I love Cristiano, he probably doesn’t love me for what I said, but I would like to think that in 5-10 years He will understand where my comments came from. From a good place.

‘I wanted him to understand that when you get to 35/36, the younger players in the locker room and the less talented players rely on you to take them under your wing and be a mentor, a coach and a There are different methods. Father in some ways.

‘He’s still my favorite player of all time and when I talk about who is the greatest of all time, he’s my favorite. I know many people will say Messi, but I love Cristiano.