Ronaldo: 'I was provoked by Ten Hag'

"I regret leaving Old Trafford that way," Ronaldo said of his departure against Tottenham in the Premier League. "It's hard to say that I regret 100%, but I was provoked by Erik ten Hag. It is unacceptable for the coach to let me play only three minutes at the end of the game. I am not that type of player. I understand that you can contribute more to the team."

Ronaldo was suspended for one match for leaving early in the match against Tottenham. When he returned, he played two full Premier League matches and two Europa League matches. In which, against Aston Villa, Ronaldo was given the captain's armband. But Ronaldo was still upset because he was banned from training with the first team for three days. He thought the punishment was too heavy, and the club forced him to react in a negative way. The 37-year-old striker also said that he has never had a similar problem with any coach or club.

Ronaldo apologized to his teammates for his behavior towards the end of the game, and said that he is not a perfect person. But he did not regret refusing to enter the field. After that, the way the club humiliated him in the media and banned him from training with the team shocked his father and son.

During the season when Man Utd was almost out of the championship race, Ronaldo wanted Arsenal to be crowned. "If it's not Man Utd winning, I want Arsenal to do it," said the 37-year-old striker, while paying tribute to coach Mikel Arteta. He said that the Spanish strategist did well when he helped the team occupy the top of the table with 12 wins from the beginning of the season, competing fairly with Man City.

But the person Ronaldo praises the most, both as a player and as a person, is Lionel Messi. "A great player," he told Piers Morgan. "He's got magic feet, he's at the top. We've shared the pinnacle for the past 16 years, so I have a good relationship with Messi. I'm not his friend, it's like going to each other's houses to play. We talked on the phone, but I felt like we were teammates."

Explaining further, Ronaldo said that he really respects the way Messi talks about him. Ronaldo described Messi as "a good guy who does great things in football", and thinks it is probably the best player he has ever seen, alongside Zinedine Zidane. In fact, from 2008 to 2021, Ronaldo and Messi have won the Golden Ball 12 times out of a total of 13 awards. 2018 is the only time the two have not won this noble individual title (belonging to Luka Modric).

Recently, both Messi and Ronaldo are said to be capable of going to Inter Miami - the American professional league team co-owned by David Beckham and led by Phil Neville. Ronaldo joked that if he and Messi played together, the team would sell a lot of shirts.

Ronaldo also shared that many other clubs wanted to sign him over the summer. The 37-year-old striker revealed that a Saudi club offered him $ 360 million under a two-year contract. Previously, Marca (Spain) newspaper reported that Al-Hilal club wanted to recruit the Portuguese superstar and make him the highest-paid player in the world.

Ronaldo's revelation aims to deny rumors that no team has been interested in him lately. "The press is trash," he said. "They keep repeating that nobody wants Cristiano. Why wouldn't anyone want a player who scored 32 goals last year?" When asked about denying $360 million over two years, he said: 'It's hard to say no. But at that time I was very happy at Man Utd, I was still able to score goals and wanted to have a great season here.

Ronaldo is not satisfied with criticism about him this season, especially comments like "he is 37 years old, not the same". "Look at my age, there are very few people who can play like me," he told Piers Morgan. Ronaldo also confirmed he is ready for the World Cup and believes he will shine in Qatar.

Ronaldo does not deny that he cannot play like he did when he was 20 years old. But the Portuguese superstar still thinks he is adapting well as he gets older, and still plays at a high level. "I want to play for two or three more years," Ronaldo said. "I want to retire at 40. But no one knows the future. Sometimes you plan something, but you never know what will happen."