LOYAL fans have defended Cristiano Ronaldo as the football star addressed issues at Manchester United during a bombshell interview with Piers Morgan.
The legendary forward hit out at United for “betraying” him and making him feel like a “black sheep” as well as blaming him for everything going wrong at the club.
He also revealed that he has no respect for manager Erik ten Hag and blasted the club’s lack of progress since Sir Alex Ferguson left in 2013 – the last time they won the title.
And he claimed the club “doubted” him after he informed them that the reason he arrived late of pre-season was because his baby daughter was in hospital through illness.
But loyal fans stood behind the football star following his bombshell comments during his interview on Piers Morgan Uncensored.
“When Ronaldo made noises that the club needed change and better players and some should not be starting, he got sacrificed. Where does the blame lie?” one fan asked on Twitter.
“Ronaldo really rejected the best team in the world to join his struggling boyhood club out of loyalty only to [be] made an outsider and be called the problem,” a second pointed out.
“There are things Ronaldo has said that he shouldn’t have said but there is a lot of things he’s said that are complete facts. He’s spot on about the club not progressing since Sir Alex retired,” said a third.
“It takes full courage to come out and speak [about] everything causing setbacks for this great club UNITED. Ronaldo is human and has really done great in football,” a fourth wrote.
Ronaldo said the club that helped make him a household name failed to transform itself in the 13 years since he left.
“When I arrived, I thought everything will be different, you know, the technology, the infrastructures and everything. But I was surprised, in a bad way, let’s say in that way because I saw everything was the same,” he told Piers.
“They stopped on a clock… the progress was zero, in my opinion.
“To compare with Real Madrid and even Juventus, that they follow the rest of the world, so the technology, especially in terms of training, nutrition and conditions of, eat properly and to recover better than before – surprised me.
“Manchester right now to compare with [my previous] club, I think it’s behind in my opinion, which is something that surprised me.”
The footie legend wept as he told Piers of his of losing his baby boy Angel on April 18.
The Man Utd star, 37, recalled: “Gio arrived home and the kids start to say where’s the other baby, where’s the other baby?”
And he revealed how he cried with his eldest, Cristiano Jr, 12, as he broke the news in his bedroom.
But his younger children — Eva and Mateo, five, and Alana Martina, four — took longer to process the news, he said.
He told Piers: “The other ones in the beginning, around the table, the kids start to say “Mom where is the other baby….’ …and after one week I say let’s be up front and let’s be honest with the kids, let’s say that, Ángel, which is his name, he go to the Heaven.”
Six months on, Ronaldo also told how Angel remains part of their daily life.
He said: “The kids understand, we had shouts around the table and they say “Daddy I did this for Ángel” and they point to the sky. Which I like the most because he’s part of their lives. I am not gonna lie to my kids, I say the truth, which was a difficult process.”
