Ronaldo himself asked to be interviewed
"Ronaldo asked me to do the interview, not I asked Ronaldo, simple as that," Morgan told talkSPORT on November 14. "Ronaldo has been thinking about this for a long time. It is no secret that Ronaldo is deeply disappointed by what has happened at Man Utd."
Morgan revealed that Ronaldo wanted to do an interview focusing on the troubles at Man Utd and the conflicting relationship with Ten Hag. The two chatted for 90 minutes on Piers Morgan Uncensored, with the first part airing on TalkTV on the evening of November 13. Here, Ronaldo openly criticized Man Utd, current coach Ten Hag, predecessor coach Ralf Rangnick and former teammate Wayne Rooney.
The full two-part interview will air on the evening of November 16 and November 17. According to British newspaper Sportmail, Man Utd must be prepared for other offensive shares from Ronaldo.
Morgan interviewed Ronaldo for the first time three years ago in Turin (Italy), when he was still playing for Juventus. Since then, the two have maintained a relationship, texting often and becoming good friends. The 57-year-old journalist feels "forced to conduct an interview when contacted by Ronaldo" and emphasizes that the Portuguese striker wants to make the conversation public before the 2022 World Cup kicks off in Qatar on November 20.
"Ronaldo felt it was necessary to speak out and to do so, knowing it would have an impact, make some changes," added Morgan. "Ronaldo knows he will receive a lot of criticism, but also knows that what he is saying is the truth. Sometimes the truth hurts. The 2022 World Cup is coming, and that helps Ronaldo leave Man Utd a month and give time. Time to let things calm down. Then Ronaldo can come back and settle things."
According to Sky Sports, Ten Hag and his teammates are "extremely disappointed" by Ronaldo's behavior and choice of time to announce the interview. The coaching staff and Man Utd players only knew about this interview when they were preparing to return from London, after the 2-1 win at Fulham in the 16th round of the Premier League on November 13. The elite at Old Trafford do not understand why the Portuguese striker made such a statement, and are considering all possibilities related to Ronaldo - including the liquidation of the contract. They think that Ronaldo is disrespectful to the club, coach Ten Hag and teammates.
From November 10, Ronaldo was announced that he would not start the match against Fulham, but was still on the registration list. But then, the 37-year-old striker announced he was sick and absent. Many sources emphasize that there has never been a member of Man Utd who did not respect Ronaldo, even when he refused to enter the field and left early to meet Tottenham.
Morgan is a famous British journalist, commentator and TV presenter. He used to judge America's Got Talent in the period 2006-2011 or Britain's Got Talent 2007-2010. Morgan is an Arsenal fan, and has a separate column in the New York Post and The Sun. He has interviewed Ronaldo many times, and one of them has been pinned on his Twitter account.
