Cristiano Ronaldo has revealed Manchester United manager Ruben Amorim’s inability to achieve miracles at Old Trafford and the sadness he feels for his former club.
Amorim guided United to three successive wins for the first time since taking charge at Old Trafford, while Saturday’s 2-2 draw at Nottingham Forest marked his first anniversary at the club.
It has been a tumultuous year for the Portuguese manager, as Manchester United not only finished 14th in the Premier League last season, their worst performance, but also lost the Europa League final and missed out on qualifying for Europe this season, ending their unbeaten run.
Manchester United have been showing positive signs recently, but Ronaldo still has doubts about the club’s current situation.
“He (Amorim) is doing his best,” Ronaldo said. Piers Morgan Uncensored.
“What are you going to do? A miracle? Miracles are impossible. In Portugal they say miracles only happen at Fatima.”
“It won’t work miracles, not even the players. Manchester United have good players, but some of them have no idea what Manchester United is.”
The Al Nasr forward spoke to Morgan three years after the bombshell interview that ended his second spell at Old Trafford in tragedy. In 2022, Ronaldo infamously criticized the club’s hierarchy and then-manager Erik ten Hag slammed the club’s facilities, leading to a move to the Saudi Professional League.
Despite the public’s opinion of United, Ronaldo said he retains his love for the club, scoring 145 goals in 346 appearances over two spells. But the five-time Ballon d’Or winner suggested the club still needs to find a management system.
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Sky Sports’ Danyal Khan looks at the statistical differences between Amorim’s Manchester United team last season and former manager Erik Ten Hag’s side.
“I am sad, because it is one of the most important clubs in the world and a club that is still very close to my heart, for the obvious reasons that as Manchester United we need to be with smart people, smart people, to create the foundations for the future.
“Years ago, Nicky Butt, Gary Neville, Roy Keane, (David) Beckham, they were big players but they were young.
“There is no structure at Manchester United at the moment. I hope that changes happen now and in the future, because the potential of the club is incredible. This club is one of the most important clubs of the century.”
Ronaldo first joined Manchester United in 2003 and enjoyed a legendary career, winning his first Ballon d’Or and the first of five Champions League titles during his time at Old Trafford.
Now 40, he won three league titles with United before moving to Real Madrid in 2009, a then world record. The Portugal captain made a dramatic return to form under Ole Gunnar Solskjaer in 2021, but despite scoring 27 goals in 54 games since his return, his return is largely seen as a failure.
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Amorim discusses the team’s form, Sir Jim Ratcliffe’s support and more on the ‘One on One’ podcast.
Asked whether he was still keeping up with Manchester United’s results and whether that result saddened him, Ronaldo said: “Of course, because I was a player there. We won the Champions League there a very, very long time ago.”
“I won the Golden Ball. I won 12, 13, 14 titles there. I repeat, Manchester United is still in my heart. I love that club.
“But we all have to be honest with ourselves and say, they need to change because they are not on a good path. I think it’s not just the coaches and players.”
Neville: Manchester United’s aging spine needs to get much better
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WATCH FREE: Highlights from the match between Nottingham Forest and Manchester United in the Premier League
Gary Neville believe Manchester United’s Experienced players “have to do better” to take Amorim’s side.
speaking overlap And Betfair’s focus on cricket“I think the spine of a football team is very important. When I first came to United, our spine was (Peter) Schmeichel, (Steve) Bruce, (Gary) Pallister, (Roy) Keane and (Eric) Cantona, so we were all spread out around those,” Neville said.
“I think (Harry) Maguire and (Matthias) De Ligt have to do a lot better than them. Look at the experience those two have gained.
“De Ligt has played a mountain of games at the highest level, Harry has played for England several times, we have a midfielder and Casemiro and Bruno (Fernandez) have huge experience.”
“They are inexperienced up front, but I think the spine of Bruno, Casemiro, Maguire and De Ligt is getting older, but we have to do a much better job of holding everyone together than they did.”
“This is why I think Liverpool are good, because they have Alisson, Van Dijk, Mac Allister and Gravenberg in midfield, and certainly the centre-forwards they have.”
