Manchester United

Manchester United

Premier League • England

Cristiano Ronaldo fires new dig at Man Utd following exit as Piers Morgan blasts Gary Lineker for ‘fan-girling’ Lionel Messi

Cristiano Ronaldo, Portugal, World Cup 2022, at the Lusail Stadium in Lusail, Qatar.

Piers Morgan has revealed the level of disdain Cristiano Ronaldo feels about Manchester United after making a quip about his exit from the Red Devils.

The Red Devils parted company with the veteran forward last month, having torn into the club in a damning interview. Speaking with TV personality and journalist Morgan for Now TV, he slammed the Glazers for the way the club was run. Ronaldo also revealed his lack of respect for Erik ten Hag, while some of his former teammates also came in for criticism.

Indeed, his comments about Wayne Rooney and his looks were particularly bitter.

The interview ultimately led the way for United to cut ties with their top earner. And it was confirmed last month that the striker has mutually agreed to end his £500,000 a deal at Old Trafford.

Now a free agent, speculation is rising at where Ronaldo will next end up playing. The favourites to sign him are Al-Nassr, with the Saudi Arabian side preparing to offer him a giant contract.

Moving there would certainly prove extremely lucrative, with the Saudis seemingly willing to pay Ronaldo a deal worth an incredible £1.2m per week.

However, TEAMtalk has learned that Ronaldo’s preference is to stay in Europe for now. As such, a number of leading clubs continue to be linked with the 37-year-old star.

However, the strongest other interest appears to come from Chelsea with a report detailing exactly why that move is a growing possibility.

Ronaldo shows lack of respect for Manchester United

In the meantime, United are determined to quickly move on from the saga. The interview did their profile no good at all, with Ten Hag very quickly deciding Ronaldo was done.

And while Ronaldo’s thoughts on the club came across loud and clear, Morgan has now revealed his message to him after his contract was officially terminated.

In an interview with the Daily Telegraph, Morgan has revealed exactly how Ronaldo felt.

“I texted Cristiano a GIF of William Wallace in Braveheart shouting: ‘Freedom!’,” Morgan began, before adding: “He thought that was a perfect summation of how he felt. ‘Free as a bird’ was his response.”

Assessing his next move, Morgan says Ronaldo believes a successful World Cup can prove he is still capable of playing at the top level.

“He thinks that if he does well at this World Cup, he’ll get what he really wants. And that is a club in the Champions League that extends his record and his legacy.

“It’s not about money at this stage of his career. It comes down to a burning desire to play football at the highest level, to break records and win trophies. And he has done that in more countries than any other player in history.”

Morgan hits out at Gary Lineker for Messi comments

Debates have often raged about who is the greatest of all time out of Lionel Messi and Ronaldo. While a small majority probably favours Messi, Morgan is one of those to openly admit why Ronaldo has to be regarded as the GOAT.

Now the journalist has hit out at the BBC for their World Cup coverage. And the broadcaster is angry in particular at its host, Gary Lineker, for the way he and his colleagues ‘fan-girled’ Messi.

Messi opened the scoring in the game as Argentina edged Australia 2-1 to advance to the quarter-finals.

However, Morgan was not happy at the way Linker and Co spoke about Messi in the build-up.

“The relentless Messi fan-girling by the whole BBC punditry team is getting excruciatingly obsequious,” the broadcaster tweeted.

“Getting worried one of them might have an ‘accident’ in the studio. Calm yourselves, lads. He had a good game against an average side. See how he does against a good team.”

Ronaldo and Portugal can join Messi in the quarter-finals if they can beat Switzerland on Tuesday.

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