“I don’t have respect for him” – Cristiano Ronaldo fires strong message to Manchester United after 4-3 defeat to Chelsea
Manchester United icon Cristiano Ronaldo posted a message to Instagram amid his old side’s collapse against Chelsea. The Red Devils suffered a 12th Premier League defeat after yet another capitulation in the dying embers at Stamford Bridge.
The Blues had taken a two-goal lead after 19 minutes when Cole Palmer doubled his side’s advantage following Conor Gallagher’s opener after four minutes. Erik ten Hag’s side showed character to restore parity with two goals in five minutes, on the stroke of half-time, through Alejandro Garnacho and Bruno Fernandes.
Garnacho got his second of the night after 67 minutes to hand United the lead. United looked certain to claim their first league win since their 2-0 victory over Everton at the beginning of March.
However, they suffered late on – as they did against Brentford on Saturday – as Palmer equalised from the penalty spot before capitalising on a defensive lapse from the visitors. There was just 82 seconds between the boyhood United fan equalising and securing an unlikely win in the 11th minute of second-half stoppage time.
Just moments before Jared Gillett blew the full-time whistle, Ronaldo – who left United for Al Nassr in 2022 – posted on Instagram: “Happy days.”
It was Ten Hag who brought the book down on the Portuguese hero after his arrival from Ajax. Ronaldo arrived under the Dutchman’s predecessor, Ole Gunnar Solskjaer, and the arrival of the five-time Ballon d’Or winner had split opinion – sparking criticism.
In an explosive interview with Piers Morgan, the veteran attacker said: “Listen I don’t care, I’m always… People should listen to the truth. “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.”