Cristiano Ronaldo ‘rolled eyes’ whenever Manchester United star spoke in dressing room
Cristiano Ronaldo reportedly used to ‘roll his eyes’ whenever Harry Maguire talked in the Manchester United dressing room. The Portuguese superstar is one of the greatest footballers of all-time and achieved legendary status at Old Trafford following two spells. Ronaldo would roll his eyes when Maguire spoke, according to a reportGetty However his second spell didn’t go exactly to plan with his exit leaving a cloud over his Red Devils legacy. With Erik ten Hag in charge, Ronaldo was alleged to be a disruptive figure in the dressing room during the latter stages of his time at the club. And according to The Telegraph, the five-time Ballon d’Or winner wasn’t shy in letting his displeasure be known towards then-captain Maguire. Viewed as a leader within the current United squad, it seems as though Ronaldo didn’t care for what Maguire had to say. In stark contrast from today, the news outlet states that, ‘No one is rolling their eyes in that dressing room any more when Maguire speaks, as Cristiano Ronaldo was known to do.” It was even reported in 2023 that Ronaldo had his request to replace Maguire as club captain rejected by interim boss Ralf Rangnick. While Maguire may not have impressed Ronaldo, he has earned the respect and admiration from boss Ruben Amorim. The England international has started the last five Premier League games, resulting in United triggering a one-year extension in his contract. As for Ronaldo, he had his deal at United ripped up by mutual consent in November 2022, leading to his switch to Saudi Arabia with Al Nassr. His exit came as a result of a falling out with boss Ten Hag and the board, where he made a number of explosive claims in a bombshell interview with Piers Morgan. Ronaldo’s time at United ended under a dark cloud following his interview with MorganGetty Maguire was captain at Old Trafford when Ronaldo returned in 2021Getty He said of Ten Hag: “I don’t have respect for him because he doesn’t show respect for me. If you don’t have respect for me, I’m never gonna have respect for you.” Commenting on the lack of changes after he joined in 2021 – 12 years after his initial exit to Real Madrid – Ronaldo remarked: “Nothing changed. “Surprisingly. Not only the pool, the jacuzzi, even the gym… Even some points, the technology, the kitchen, the chefs, which is, I appreciate, lovely persons. “They stopped in a time, which surprised me a lot. I thought I will see different things… different, as I mentioned before, technology, infrastructure. “But unfortunately, we see many things that I used to see, when I was 20, 21, 23. So, it surprised me a lot.” It was a view that ex-United assistant manager Mike Phelan understood, as he told talkSPORT: “I do think he had a point. Ronaldo and Ten Hag had a public falling out – leading to his November 2022 exitAFP “There were elements to the training ground that were tired, definitely. “He’s a high maintenance player… massive standards, huge standards. And he obviously gained a lot of experiences at Manchester United, left, gained even more. “Coming back, anybody would expect more. You want to move with the times. I don’t think he saw that pretty early in his career at United. “But when we brought him back, he should’ve seen the feelings around the place and the players. Top, top players in that dressing room just wanted him around – they wanted him. “It was an unbelievable decision to bring a world class player into that dressing room. “And the supporters reacted to it hugely. The lift was remarkable. I just think (his time with the club) ran its course.” He added: “I’m sure he would have looked at it and thought this is a lot different to what he expected. “Did he do his homework before? Probably not. Emotionally attached? Yes. And he just expected more and probably it wasn’t there.”
Cristiano Ronaldo reportedly used to ‘roll his eyes’ whenever Harry Maguire talked in the Manchester United dressing room.
The Portuguese superstar is one of the greatest footballers of all-time and achieved legendary status at Old Trafford following two spells.
However his second spell didn’t go exactly to plan with his exit leaving a cloud over his Red Devils legacy.
With Erik ten Hag in charge, Ronaldo was alleged to be a disruptive figure in the dressing room during the latter stages of his time at the club.
And according to The Telegraph, the five-time Ballon d’Or winner wasn’t shy in letting his displeasure be known towards then-captain Maguire.
Viewed as a leader within the current United squad, it seems as though Ronaldo didn’t care for what Maguire had to say.
In stark contrast from today, the news outlet states that, ‘No one is rolling their eyes in that dressing room any more when Maguire speaks, as Cristiano Ronaldo was known to do.”
It was even reported in 2023 that Ronaldo had his request to replace Maguire as club captain rejected by interim boss Ralf Rangnick.
While Maguire may not have impressed Ronaldo, he has earned the respect and admiration from boss Ruben Amorim.
The England international has started the last five Premier League games, resulting in United triggering a one-year extension in his contract.
As for Ronaldo, he had his deal at United ripped up by mutual consent in November 2022, leading to his switch to Saudi Arabia with Al Nassr.
His exit came as a result of a falling out with boss Ten Hag and the board, where he made a number of explosive claims in a bombshell interview with Piers Morgan.
He said of Ten Hag: “I don’t have respect for him because he doesn’t show respect for me. If you don’t have respect for me, I’m never gonna have respect for you.”
Commenting on the lack of changes after he joined in 2021 – 12 years after his initial exit to Real Madrid – Ronaldo remarked: “Nothing changed.
“Surprisingly. Not only the pool, the jacuzzi, even the gym… Even some points, the technology, the kitchen, the chefs, which is, I appreciate, lovely persons.
“They stopped in a time, which surprised me a lot. I thought I will see different things… different, as I mentioned before, technology, infrastructure.
“But unfortunately, we see many things that I used to see, when I was 20, 21, 23. So, it surprised me a lot.”
It was a view that ex-United assistant manager Mike Phelan understood, as he told talkSPORT: “I do think he had a point.
“There were elements to the training ground that were tired, definitely.
“He’s a high maintenance player… massive standards, huge standards. And he obviously gained a lot of experiences at Manchester United, left, gained even more.
“Coming back, anybody would expect more. You want to move with the times. I don’t think he saw that pretty early in his career at United.
“But when we brought him back, he should’ve seen the feelings around the place and the players. Top, top players in that dressing room just wanted him around – they wanted him.
“It was an unbelievable decision to bring a world class player into that dressing room.
“And the supporters reacted to it hugely. The lift was remarkable. I just think (his time with the club) ran its course.”
He added: “I’m sure he would have looked at it and thought this is a lot different to what he expected.
“Did he do his homework before? Probably not. Emotionally attached? Yes. And he just expected more and probably it wasn’t there.”
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