“I’m not happy the way it all happened” - Cristiano Ronaldo on ‘change’ brought by co-owner Sir Jim Ratcliffe at Manchester United

Cristiano Ronaldo was overall pleased with the recent changes at Manchester United under Sir Jim Ratcliffe but wasn't happy with the events preceding it. He praised the new part-owners for addressing the long-standing issues.

Speaking on Rio Ferdinand's podcast, Ronaldo gave his opinion on the ownership development at Old Trafford and how the new management was changing things up at the club. He said:

"They start to change again, the structure of the club, the president, the infrastructures and everything. The owners of the club. They're investing in the training ground. So I'm happy because [things are changing]. I'm not happy the way it all happened, but in the same way, we cannot control some points of our life sometimes, but it's done, already done."

Ronaldo left Manchester United in November 2022 after his contract was terminated by mutual consent. He had then criticized the club, the owners and also manager Erik ten Hag in an explosive interview with UK TV personality Piers Morgan. He had explained:

"When I arrived, I thought everything will be different, you know, the technology, the infrastructures and everything. But I was surprised, in a bad way, let's say in that way because I saw everything was the same. At United, the progress was zero, in my opinion. To compare with Real Madrid and even Juventus, that they follow the rest of the world, so the technology, especially in terms of training, nutrition and conditions of, eat properly and to recover better than before - surprised me."

Cristiano Ronaldo joined Al Nassr after his contract was terminated and has been with the Saudi Pro League club since.

Cristiano Ronaldo not sure about Erik ten Hag at Manchester United

Cristiano Ronaldo gave his opinion on Erik ten Hag in Ferdinand's podcast. He claimed that the Dutchman's comments did not suit a Manchester United manager, saying:

"Manchester United, they need to rebuild everything, in my opinion. The coach, they say they cannot compete to win the League and Champions League. [As a] Manchester United coach, you cannot say that you're not going to fight to win the League or Champions League. You have to be, to mentally say, listen, maybe we don't have that potential, but I cannot say that. We're going to try. You have to try."

Manchester United finished eighth in the Premier League last season but won the FA Cup, riding on which Ten Hag was handed a contract extension.