United assess options as Ronaldo takes aim at Glazer family

Simon Stone, BBC Sport

In the latest section of Cristiano Ronaldo’s interview with Talk TV released on Monday, the Manchester United forward said the Glazer family “don’t care about the club” on the sporting side and responded to recent criticism from Sky Sports pundit and former team-mate Gary Neville.

United are privately unhappy at some of the specific allegations Ronaldo is making about life behind the scenes at Old Trafford, pointing out that the restaurant and menu have been overhauled, that upgrades are being made to the gym and that the training ground is different to the one the Portuguese left in 2009.

There is also unhappiness at Ronaldo’s claim he is being forced out by ‘executives’ given he was granted compassionate leave and allowed to miss the summer tour of Thailand and Australia by senior figures at the club, even when the move was being questioned by others.

There have been rumours for a while now that Ronaldo – widely seen as uber-professional – has not been the guide to younger players as was expected.

It is also beyond doubt that Ronaldo wanted to leave in the summer. United sources are adamant that, other than an offer from Saudi Arabia, no deal was put forward that didn’t involve them paying a substantial part of his salary.

Against this backdrop, United must decide what to do next.

Catch up with the latest from Ronaldo’s explosive interview here and read more from Simon here