The situation with Cristiano Ronaldo has been a dark cloud lingering over Manchester United all season and parts of last year too, but that’s nothing compared to this latest downpour.
Man United‘s number seven and long-standing club legend has put his legacy in further jeopardy by deciding to do an exclusive interview with Piers Morgan for TalkTV, in which he didn’t hold back his opinions on both current and previous coaches, as well past and present teammates.
Speaking on Piers Morgan Uncensored, the 37-year-old started by diagnosing what many fans would tend to agree with: that there has been “no evolution in the club” since the days of Sir Alex Ferguson.
Ronaldo went on to suggest that everything from the gym facilities to “the technology, the kitchen” and various other pieces of “infrastructure”.
The all-time leading international and club goalscorer went on to question why the club previously brought in Ralf Rangnick as both a sporting director and interim manager, arguing that “he’s not even a coach”, adding: “how are you going to be the boss of Manchester United? I’d never even heard of him”.
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Regardless of his feelings, it is worth reminding that the German has indeed coached more than a dozen different teams in his career — currently employed as the manager of the Austrian national team — and is regularly credited for developing popular ‘Gegenpressing’ tactics used by Jurgen Klopp, for instance.
Furthermore, the Portuguese icon went on to drag his current coach Erik ten Hag, stating: “I don’t have respect for him because he doesn’t show respect for me. If you don’t have respect for me, I’m never gonna have respect for you.” Ronaldo has been dropped by ten Hag on multiple occasions.
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Ronaldo was reportedly told he would not be in the squad for Sunday’s match against Fulham on Thursday, according to Sky reporter Kaveh Solhekol, with his comments no doubt taking some of the shine off thrilling stoppage time win.
Clearly lining up the interview in the days leading up to their next Premier League fixture, he went on to say that he feels “betrayed” by the club and that figures were looking to force him out, including ten Hag himself.
Going off on somewhat of a tangent, Ronaldo even took aim at his former teammate and attacking partner, Wayne Rooney, after the club’s leading goalscorer said last week that CR7 risks becoming an “unwanted distraction” at United.
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Apparently, Ronaldo hasn’t appreciated Rooney’s comments in recent weeks and months, responding by saying: “I don’t know why he criticises me so badly… probably because he finished his career and I’m still playing at a high level. I’m not going to say that I’m looking better than him. Which is true…”
Calling into talkSPORT the morning after, Morgan revealed he had been asking the broadcaster to do an interview for some time and despite its controversial nature, “he feels he should be doing this”.
Meanwhile, United have said they will not be officially responding to Ronaldo’s Piers Morgan interview but Sky understands that teammates, coaches and various other staff members are disappointed that the veteran professional would “disrespect” the club in this way.
Nevertheless, Ronaldo believes “the fans should know the truth” and that he only wants “the best for the club”, insisting that “they’re always on my side”. We dare say he may have fewer supporters on his side after this one.
Featured Image — Piers Morgan Uncensored (via Twitter)
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Manchester football fans warned of rise in resale ticket scams ahead of FA Cup final
Emily Sergeant
Manchester football fans are being warned of a rise in resale ticket scams ahead of the FA Cup final in a couple of weeks time.
History is repeating itself and tensions are building by the day, as Manchester United and Manchester City are facing each other in an all-Manchester final of the Emirates FA Cup at Wembley Stadium on Saturday 25 May.
And, to no surprise, it’s set to be a massive day for football fans in our football-obsessed city.
2023 was the first time the two Manchester clubs battled it out for the FA Cup title in the final in the 151-year-old football competition’s illustrious history, and it was victory for the Citizens, with the trophy was formed a crucial piece of their treble-winning season… but, in what seems to be a repeating turn of events, 2024 is the year of the re-match.
As you’d probably expect, once it was confirmed that United and City would face each other again in the FA Cup final this year, tickets for the match sold out instantly, and there’s only a handful of restricted view seats left now.
Despite Manchester City having even warned that any fans who are found to have resold their ticket will face a ban, there are, however, countless resale sites and individuals are flogging their seats online.
This is why the digital payment experts at takepayments are urging any fans hoping to travel from Manchester to London for the final to remain vigilant, and make sure they are armed with the knowledge and tips that’ll prevent them from falling for fraudulent ticket scams.
“The FA Cup Final is one of the most highly-anticipated matches of the season and there is always huge demand for tickets,” explained Jodie Wilkinson, who is the Head of Strategic Partnerships at takepayments.
“Unfortunately this means ticket touts will be looking to sell seats at inflated prices, as well as conning fans out of their money with fraudulent tickets, or stealing their bank details using a fake resale site.”
She explained that while buying tickets by credit or debit card does cover fans under Section 75 and Chargeback Rules – which is where their card provider could help recover the cost of goods or services if they do not receive what they paid for – paying cash for a ticket doesn’t have the same protection if the ticket ends up being unauthorised.
Research from Lloyds Bank ahead of the new football season last year revealed that the majority of football ticket scams tend to take place on social media platforms via bank transfers, but unfortunately, Jodie admitted that it can be “extremely difficult” to recover money lost from bank transfer scams, as in most cases, victims willingly transfer payment to a fraudster’s account.
“It’s important to only buy tickets from a secure ticket resale site and never send anyone you don’t know and have only spoken to on social media money,” Jodie concluded.
She also said that secure eCommerce websites will have “certain card payment security measures in place” to prevent people from getting scammed, and that fans should be aware of these security measures before making any payments.
Strong Customer Authentication (SCA), 3D Secure Authentication, and Secure Socket Layer (SSL) certifications, are some of the most common measures sites put in place.
More information on card payment security measures can be found on the takepayements website here.
Manchester United and Manchester City will battle it out to be crowned champions in the final of the Emirates FA Cup on Saturday 25 May.
Kick-off is at 3pm, and the game action is to be shown live on both BBC One and ITV.
Featured Image – The FA
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When it rains it pours: Old Trafford’s flooding once again sums up Manchester United’s downfall
Danny Jones
The infamous Old Trafford leaks burst open worse than ever this weekend as Manchester United lost 1-0 to Arsenal, with the pictures of flooding from inside the stadium only further symbolising the club’s downfall under the Glazer ownership.
Although the home defeat meant that the Gunners could still potentially go on to beat Man City to the title, it was hard for fans not to turn their attention to the deluge of rainwater that began dumping on various parts of the stadium, which continues to look more and more out of date every year.
It is by no means the first time we’ve seen Man United’s home ground leaking – even sparking the ‘Old Trafford is falling down’ chant from opposing supporters throughout the EFL – but the footage captured this Sunday might be some of the most damning.
This is not the kind of conditions fitting of somewhere long referred to as the ‘Theatre of Dreams’.
In truth, Erik ten Hag‘s defence has been leaky all season, having conceded a record 82 goals since the start of the campaign and famously blowing multiple two-goal leads in various games, but these kinds of scenes do feel rather symbolic of the underlying problems at United.
Seeing their food hygiene rating drop from five stars to just one after serving undercooked meat is yet another example of how not only have the facilities been left to rot but the standards have slipped over the past 10-11 years.
It’s not just that the brand of football being seen isn’t up to the level of Sir Alex Ferguson, it’s that literal debris has been spotted falling in the concourse, transfers have been botched and the outrage from fans has become so great that they broke into the stadium whilst protesting just a few short years ago.
The list goes on and what’s even more indicative of this gradual downfall than anything is that fans now find themselves in the unpleasant position of having to potentially swallow losses against rivals like Arsenal in the hopes that they might stop City from winning a record-fourth division title in a row.
Over the past decade or so, the ‘noisy neighbours’ have gone on to become treble winners, Liverpool returned to their former glory with a Premier League and another European title, Arsenal could be set to do the same and the Red Devils simply aren’t the threat they once were.
It seems almost hard to believe that Manchester United could still go on to win back-to-back trophies in ten Hag’s first two seasons if they manage to get past Pep Guardiola’s men at Wembley on Saturday, 25 May but, for many, it will still remain merely a plaster slapped over a hole just waiting burst open again.
The Old Trafford flooding isn’t just proof of the shocking state of disrepair it finds itself in but is emblematic of what the Glazers have allowed the club to slip into and just how much work needs to be done by Ratcliffe, INEOS and the new figures working behind the scenes at the club.