Cristiano Ronaldo He has insisted that Manchester United’s problems are not caused by new manager Ruben Amorim, and believes he would be able to fix them if he were the club’s owner.
Amorim has lost five of his 10 games in charge of United – including four of the last five in the Premier League – and ahead of the next game against Newcastle United he said his job was not secure.
But Ronaldo, who has scored 145 goals over two spells at United but has been critical of the club’s ownership in recent years among other things, said his countryman is not to blame.
“The Premier League is the toughest league in the world,” Ronaldo, now playing for Al Nassr in Saudi Arabia, said at the Globe Soccer Awards in Dubai, United Arab Emirates on Friday.
“All the teams are good, all the teams fight, all the teams run, all the players are strong. Football is different now. There is no easy game anymore.
“I said this a year and a half ago, and I’ll continue to say it: The problem is not the coaches.
“It’s like an aquarium. If you have a fish inside and it’s sick and you take it out and you fix the problem and you put it back in the aquarium, it’s going to get sick again.”
“Manchester United has the same problem. The problem is not always the coach. It’s much more than that.”
“If I become the owner of the club, I will clarify things and adjust what I feel is bad there.”
Ronaldo’s comments came after he hinted at ownership of a “big club” in the near future.
He said, “I’m not a coach. I’ll never be a coach or a club president? No. Maybe a club owner.”
“It will depend on the moment, the right opportunity.”
Asked if he had anyone in mind, Ronaldo cryptically replied: “Not yet. Something, maybe.”
But when asked about direct contact with the Glazers, Ronaldo said: “I’m still very young, I have a lot of plans and dreams ahead.
“But mark my words, I will own a big club. For sure.”
Ronaldo left United in 2022 following public differences with Eric ten Hag and a TV interview where Ronaldo made several explosive claims, including that the owners – the Glazer family – “don’t care about the club.”
Since Ronaldo’s exit, Sir Jim Ratcliffe’s Ineos Group has taken control of football operations, while Ten Hag was sacked prior to Amorim’s appointment. But Ronaldo feels problems still remain.
When asked about Amorim, the Portugal forward praised him, saying: “He did a fantastic job in Portugal with my club Sporting. But the Premier League is a different animal, it’s a different league, it’s the most competitive in the world. It’s a league.
“I knew it would be hard and they would continue to storm, but the storm will end and the sun will rise. Things will be good with him and I hope the best for Manchester United because it is a club I want right now. I love you too.”
At the awards, Ronaldo was named the Best Middle East Player of 2024 after a strong year in Saudi Arabia.