Manchester United players unhappy with Cristiano Ronaldo as friction increases in dressing room

A number of players were unhappy following Ronaldo’s comments about younger players in a recent interview.

Cristiano Ronaldo’s recent interview where he criticised younger players has reportedly not gone down too well with a number of Manchester United stars.

The Portuguese claimed that the club’s youngsters need to “change their mentality” and implement better habits. In the interview with Sky Sports, the 39-year-old said: “If I give you advice, even if you are younger than me, but if that’s not in your plan during your daily life then it will be difficult.

“I remember when I was 18, 19, 20, some older players spoke with me, but I put that as: ‘Cristiano, you have to improve — they know more than you, they are more experienced than you, they passed through many bad moments.’

“But the other people do not accept that if you criticise them – I don’t say this generation of our players but in general, I have kids, I know. Sometimes when you’re a little bit harder, they do the opposite, so you have to find the right balance to speak with them.”

However, according to The Athletic, Ronaldo’s comments were not received well by a majority of players. The report also goes on the state that a lot of the younger players feel the Ballon d’Or winner isn’t very approachable, and that Edinson Cavani, even with his limited English, is easier to talk to.

More damaging leaks are doing the rounds today, with claims of a rift between Cristiano Ronaldo and several of his teammates… 😬

His recent comments have not gone down well and some of the younger players believe the striker is not approachable. 👀

[The Athletic] pic.twitter.com/eoSwy5XiwE
— SPORTbible (@sportbible) January 21, 2022

Ronaldo was subbed off against Brentford and was visibly upset at interim boss Ralf Rangnick, who had to explain to the forward that the decision was made for the benefit of the team.

“He asked: ‘Why me, why have you taken me off?’” Rangnick said. “I told him: ‘I have to make decisions in the interests of the team and club. We had the same situation at Aston Villa [on Saturday] when we were 2-0 up in the second half and I didn’t want to make the same mistake [drawing 2-2].’

“‘I know you’re ambitious to score but maybe in two years’ time when you are a head coach like me and in the same position you’ll understand.'”