Former Man Utd star Antonio Valencia has waded in on Cristiano Ronaldo’s exit from the club following his controversial interview with Piers Morgan.
Ronaldo’s return to United last year got off to a promising start as he scored 18 goals in the Premier League in 2021/22.
Man Utd were less successful as a team as they failed to win a trophy and they finished sixth in the Premier League.
Their failure to qualify for the Champions League fuelled Ronaldo’s desire to leave Man Utd in the summer.
The Red Devils were unwilling to let him leave at the time and this has perhaps proven to be a mistake.
Ronaldo missed much of pre-season and Erik ten Hag subsequently left the 37-year-old out of the team the majority of the time.
The experienced forward refused to come on as a substitute on a couple of occasions and his interview with Morgan was the final straw.
During this interview, Ronaldo hit out at Ten Hag, the Glazer family and some of his former United teammates. This left United with no choice but to part ways with the forward and he is now a free agent.
Ronaldo exited with United fifth in the Premier League. They are three points adrift of Tottenham with a game in hand.
Valencia is concerned that United are “stuck at the moment” under Ten Hag.
‘I want to share my thoughts on the state of Manchester United,’ Valencia wrote for The Athletic.
‘As fans, we’re all suffering. It’s a great club that’s just stuck at the moment. It’s a team that’s looking up from a great distance at the top positions in the table. They haven’t been competitive enough. One game they are. The next game they’re not. It’s a shame.
‘Hopefully they can recover because Manchester United are a massive club. I know they have what it takes to do so.
‘I’m hoping that new players, important players who love the Manchester United shirt and who truly feel that way, will soon arrive at the club. It’s a great city with great supporters.’
Valencia later suggested that Ronaldo would have had “his reasons for saying what he did” during his infamous interview with Morgan.
‘On that same note, it was too bad Cristiano Ronaldo left Manchester United in the way he did,’ Valencia added.
‘A player like him should leave a club by walking off the pitch to applause at a sold-out stadium. The people there loved him.
‘The interview he gave recently was unfortunate. He’ll have his reasons for saying what he did, but I felt awful about the way he left the club. It hurt.
‘I hope everything goes well for him at his new club. I wish Ronaldo nothing but the best.’
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