- Utd have found one player who used to pass mostly to Ronaldo
- Did so to receive praise from the talisman
- Some United players were overwhelmed by his personality
WHAT HAPPENED? The Al-Nassr forward had a bitter end to his second spell at Old Trafford after his contract was mutually terminated in November 2022, following a bombshell interview with Piers Morgan where he hit out at the club hierarchy and manager Erik ten Hag. According to a report in The Athletic, United video analysts tracked down one player who, during the Portuguese's stint at the club, would mostly pass the ball to Ronaldo in order to earn praise.
THE BIGGER PICTURE: The backroom staff was trying to understand the reasons behind the loss in form for the player by studying match footage, when they discovered that he was ending up passing the ball to Ronaldo because he was in awe of the presence of the 38-year-old. The report also mentions that several United players were "overwhelmed" by Ronaldo's striking personality and seemed to "cower in his presence'".
Please enable Javascript to view this contentAND WHAT'S MORE: Ronaldo's arrival also curtailed the stature of many senior players in the dressing room, especially Harry Maguire. It was reported that the forward even asked then-interim manager Ralf Rangnick to drop the defender for his dubious form andgive him the captain's armband in the second half of the 2021-22 season, but the German coach refused to bow to his wishes.
IN TWO PHOTOS:
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Getty ImagesWHAT NEXT FOR UNITED & RONALDO? The Red Devils have moved on from Ronaldo and are looking to finish the season in the top four of the Premier League. They will next be in action on Thursday against Tottenham. Meanwhile, Ronaldo will take the field a day later against Al-Raed in the Saudi Pro League in Al-Nassr colours.