Cristiano Ronaldo 'finished' claims rubbished

Red Devils manager Ten Hag suffered a falling out with Ronaldo at Old Trafford early in the 2022-23 campaign that led to the five-time Ballon d’Or winner being released as a free agent following an explosive interview with television presenter Morgan.

Morgan has, despite being an Arsenal fan, always been a big supporter of Ronaldo. He has reiterated that stance, telling talkSPORT amid claims that the 39-year-old superstar – who recently reached 900 career goals - is becoming a spent force: “The idea that anyone thinks after watching the last two Portugal games that Ronaldo is finished or that somehow he's taken the easy gravy train in Saudi Arabia and therefore he can't be taken seriously as a player. All this bullsh*t I've been hearing about it like, come on, look at the guy as Roy Keane, who I think is one of the most perceptive eyes for footballers in the world.

“As he said this week, there is no better finisher than Cristiano Ronaldo still out there as he's shown. Last night he hit the post, then he scored. He had a disappointing Euros, but certainly Portugal did collectively. I don't think he got the service he should have got. But the truth is Ronaldo remains one of the most lethal finishers in world football.”

Quizzed on why United - who have struggled for consistency since allowing Ronaldo to move on - agreed to part with the all-time great, Morgan added: “Because Ten Hag is a complete idiot. I'm sorry, he is. He has been since he went there, right? He talks in complete gibberish. He's now banging on about Harry Potter or something. Ten Hag is everything Ronaldo told me he was in that interview, which led to him leaving United. The biggest problem with Ten Hag, he's like that bossy little school teacher you get who doesn't know how to handle supreme academic talent.”

Morgan went on to say: “So you look at the players he's been unable to handle at United. Cristiano Ronaldo, Jadon Sancho, Marcus Rashford. It's all the top players. He can handle the lesser rung. He can handle the guys he brings in from Ajax who've never been on the big world stage, but he cannot handle top players.

“I can't believe I'm saying this because it's a miracle, but they've actually gotten worse than they were last season. So Cristiano Ronaldo, had he stayed at Manchester United, would have been immeasurably better than any of the strikers they've currently got as he's proving for Portugal. The guy’s the greatest that has ever played the game, the greatest that will ever play the game. That's why he's the number one scorer. That's why he'll get to a thousand goals.”

Ronaldo has vowed to register 1,000 goals before hanging up his boots. Retirement is not something that he is willing to consider just yet, with the evergreen frontman still producing talismanic performances for Portugal and Saudi Pro League outfit Al-Nassr.