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

Gary Neville has claimed that Cristiano Ronaldo’s inability to adapt during his second spell at Manchester United led to his inevitable departure.

Ronaldo’s return to the Red Devils ended in disaster after he publicly fell out with manager Erik ten Hag following his stunning tell-all interview with Piers Morgan.

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

And now Ronaldo’s former teammate Neville has spoken out about the 38-year-old’s return to the club and questioned Ronaldo’s ‘leadership’.

To talk with MARCANeville said: “I think he has done really well in terms of goals. He has a character and a personality in which he does not accept second parts.

Tensions quickly rose between the attacker and Man United manager Erik ten Hag (left)

Former Man United star Neville says Ronaldo had to ‘adapt his leadership style’ at United

‘I criticized him because I believe that if you are a leader in the dressing room and you are a leader in world football, there are different ways of teaching, different ways of mentoring and different ways of teaching the younger players in the team. coaching. that are not at your level.

“I think Cristiano should have adapted his leadership style at United and adapted it to the players in the dressing room who needed guidance, training and a higher level.”

However, Ronaldo was a key part of the United team a year later during the 2021-2022 season, making just four starts from the first ten games.

Ultimately, the former Real Madrid and Juventus star was sold to Saudi Pro League club Al-Nassr, for whom he recently scored a goal in their victory over Al-Ahli.

“Cristiano got frustrated with them, he got angry with them and that was sometimes visible during the matches and in the end it became a kind of confrontation,” Marcel continued.

‘I’ve played with him, he’s at an incredible level and has worked as hard as any player I’ve played with; all you see in Cristiano is talent and hard work.

‘He wants to win, he is desperate to win, he wants to score goals and he wants to be the best player in the world, so I think it has been difficult for him, maybe because he has reached the end of his career at the club . teams that were not at the level he had seen before’.

During Ronaldo’s stunning interview with Piers Morgan in November 2022, the striker accused Gary Neville of using him to raise his own profile.

Ronaldo told Morgan: ‘To listen while ex-colleagues or teammates criticize you, while they only see one point of view. It’s easy.

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

The 38-year-old scored 27 goals from 54 appearances during his second spell at the club

Despite being former teammates, Neville and Ronaldo now have a fractured relationship

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

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

“I wanted him to understand that when you get to 35/36, the younger players in the dressing room and the less talented players rely on you to take them along and there are different ways to be a mentor, a coach and a coach. father in some ways.

“He’s still my favorite player of all time and the one I like most when I talk about who is the best of all time. I know a lot of people would say Messi, but I love Cristiano.”