Ronaldo Was Rejected Due To His ‘Standards’ – Ex-United Coach

Mike Phelan, a former Manchester United coach, has said that the high standards of Cristiano Ronaldo contributed to the Portuguese star losing the support of some of his teammates during his ill-fated second term at Old Trafford.

Ronaldo played at Old Trafford twice, initially joining from Sporting in 2003 and spending six years under Sir Alex Ferguson before moving to Real Madrid in 2009.

He left Juventus in 2021 and went to the Premier League, where he instantly struck the ground running, but his move would sour, leading to his bitter departure in 2022.

In an interview with Sky Sports, Ronaldo’s former coach, Phelan, opened up about how his second term unravelled around him.

“The second time around, he came in a lot older and a lot more opinionated, strong-willed,” Phelan said.

Read Also: Ronaldo’s Contract With Man United Ended By Mutual Consent

“He still had massively high standards and was terrific to work with. But I’d probably say a tougher mindset. He had been at Man United, he had been Portugal’s ever-present, he had been at Madrid.

“I liked it because he didn’t want his standards to drop, he wanted other people’s standards to come up. And sometimes you lose a few people along the way when that happens.

“I remember certain times when he pushed and pushed hard, and he didn’t get much reaction or much response. And there was frustration.

“When you deal with top, top people, it’s about them and where they can finish and where they can get to. They want to look back and go “Wow, that was successful”. And he probably realised, and I don’t know as I never had that conversation with him, that he couldn’t do it at Manchester United. So his challenges were elsewhere.”

Ronaldo may have put up excellent stats, with 27 goals in 54 games during his second stint, but his departure from the club surely diminished his legacy there.