Cristiano Ronaldo has defended Ruben Amorim amid the Manchester United “storm” and made a very bold claim about his possible return to the club.
Ronaldo scored 145 goals for United, won nine pieces of silverware at Old Trafford and is widely considered to be one of the club’s greatest ever players despite leaving the club after his second spell in acrimonious circumstances.
In a bombshell interview with Piers Morgan at the start of the 2022/2023 season, the Portuguese legend was heavily critical of the Glazer family, as well as then manager Erik ten Hag and his teammates, leading to his release in November 2022.
Little has been fixed at United in the meantime, certainly not on the pitch, with the Red Devils currently languishing in 14th place in the Premier League, with Ten Hag’s sack in favour of Amorim doing nothing to prevent their slide into mediocrity.
But Ronaldo is convinced Amorim will make it through the United “storm”.
He said at the Globe Soccer Awards: “He did a fantastic job in Portugal with my Sporting.
“Premier League is a different beast, it’s a different league, it’s the most competitive league in the world, I knew it would be tough and they will continue the storm but the storm will finish and the sun will raise.
“Fingers crossed things will be good with him and I hope the best for Manchester United because it’s a club I still love.”
MORE MAN UTD COVERAGE ON F365…
👉 Man Utd sent me to sleep; it’s no Lowland League – the football week in TV
👉 Man Utd: Amorim ‘completely blanked’ one star at Wolves after ‘sending strong message’
👉 Man Utd: INEOS consider U-turn as Berrada ‘begins process’ with ‘appalling’ Ratcliffe slammed
Ronaldo was particularly critical of the Glazers in that 2022 interview, slamming them over their lack of investment in the club, pointing to the poor facilities that pale in comparison to other European giants.
Sir Jim Ratcliffe has taken charge of football operations after arriving as co-owner in February and has made supposedly “big changes” off the pitch, including the implementation of a proper hierarchy above the head coach and some significant cost-cutting.
And Ronaldo doubled down on his previous comments, insisting the club’s problem remains the ownership.
“I said this a year and a half ago, and I will continue to say, the problem is not the coaches,” the Al-Nassr star said.
“I always give this example, it’s like an aquarium, if you have a fish inside and it’s sick and you take it out, and you fix the problem and you put him back in the aquarium they will be sick again and this is the problem.
“Manchester United is the same, the problem is not only the coach, it’s much more than that.
“If I will be the owner of the club, I will make the things clear and adjust what I think is bad there.”
Asked about the possibility of actually becoming owner of Manchester United, Ronaldo boldly claimed it was a possibility as he believes he is destined to own a big club in the future.
“I’m not a coach. I’m never going to be a coach. President of the club? No. Maybe owner of the club,” he added.
“I am still very young, I have so many plans and dreams ahead. Mark my words, I will be an owner of a big club. For sure.”
