Gary Neville was upset with Cristiano Ronaldo for not showing more support for Ole Gunnar Solskjaer during his second spell at Manchester United
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Neville disappointed with RonaldoWanted him to support Solskjaer morePortuguese stropped after Everton drawWHAT HAPPENED?
Solskjaer relived his three-month spell as Ronaldo's coach during the Portuguese's second spell at United while speaking to Neville on the podcast, brought to you by Sky Bet. And the former United captain said he wished the legendary striker had been more of a leader and supported his manager publicly, recalling when Ronaldo stormed off after a 1-1 draw with Everton, having started the game on the bench.
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“When I saw Ronaldo on the bench and he was doing those things to the camera, it was tough. Obviously after the Everton game, when Ole left him out that first time and I remember he walked off, and I felt that was letting Ole down because he was an ex-teammate," Neville said.
GettyTHE BIGGER PICTURE
Ronaldo scored plenty of goals in his second spell at United but the team performed badly and pressure began to pile on Solskjaer after big defeats by Leicester, Liverpool and Manchester City. He was eventually sacked after being thrashed 4-1 by Watford. “He’s a great player, an immovable object in terms of what he’s achieved, but I thought he should have been with Ole as his ally in the dressing room, especially from the times we had as players together in the dressing room," Neville added. "I wanted him to step up and be the leader in the dressing room, but he didn’t, and that’s why we were conflicted with the situation.”
DID YOU KNOW?
Despite Neville's complaints, Solskjaer insisted he had a good relationship with Ronaldo. “I had a good relationship with Cristiano and there’s loads of respect between us. I think he behaved really well in his disappointments when I was there," the Norwegian added.