Cristiano Ronaldo doesn’t remember such a poor start to the season in terms of performance, statistics, and gameplay since he was eighteen years old. However, Gary Neville claims that he is responsible for all the problems.
Even last season, Ronaldo was able to be a difference player, on whom his (now former) teammates from Manchester United bet. However, the summer brought changes in the management of the Red Devils and Cristiano suddenly fell off the pace. Because he was absent from the pre-season tour, new manager Erik ten Hag refused to immediately implement him into the lineup. And CR7, instead of accepting this fact, gradually started arguing with the management.
“Looking back, I have to say that whatever happened in the summer really threw Ronaldo off. I heard that he was already looking for a way to leave Manchester, but no other big club wanted him or guaranteed the terms he wanted. Either way, something broke in Ronaldo and he stopped playing in his original capacity.” noted then Red Devils captain and current football pundit Gary Neville.
“Cristiano gets those chances, but he no longer converts them. He pushed everything more and more, he was angry and instead of having a calm bow, he had it thrown around. He was probably angry with himself, manager Erik ten Hag, his agent and possibly the world. I think that the problem he has is very mental. When he calms down and plays a few games, the goals will come back with him. Unfortunately, the managers have to expect that they will not expect any higher work commitment from him. After all, he will be 38 years old and physically he won’t be able to measure up to today’s youngsters.” assessed Neville in the Sky Sports studio.
