Ex-Manchester United coach Mike Phelan has indicated that Cristiano Ronaldo’s second spell at the club was marred by frustration due to his own high standards that put him at loggerheads with some of his teammates.
In August 2021, Ronaldo returned to United for a second stint to a hero’s welcome.
However, things soon turned ugly. The Red Devils’ failure to perform on the pitch led to Ole Gunnar Solskjaer losing his job and Ralf Rangnick taking over on an interim basis.
Rangnick and Ronaldo did not get along very well. Erik ten Hag’s arrival at the club also saw the Dutchman clash with Ronaldo on a number of occasions.
It all boiled over when the five-time Ballon d’Or winner granted an explosive interview to British broadcaster Piers Morgan in which he accused Ten Hag of trying to force him out and disrespecting him.
Ronaldo also hinted that some of the players were not up to the level required and did not possess the mental fortitude to play for a club of United’s stature.
Phelan spoke to Sky Sports and suggested that Ronaldo’s high standards and demand for perfection did not allow him to enjoy a decent relationship with some of his teammates.
Phelan said, “The second time round, he came in a lot older and a lot more opinionated, strong-willed. 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 Utd, 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.”
Phelan compared Ronaldo’s first stint at the club, which was incredibly successful, to his second spell.
The 60-year-old claimed that the Portuguese superstar was initially young and arrived at United from Sporting Lisbon with the full knowledge that he could be the best player in the world.
Phelan insisted that Ronaldo had the mentality, skillset, work ethic and application to thrive among his more senior colleagues who had won everything before him.
He also challenged the coaching staff including Sir Alex Ferguson, himself, and Carlos Queiroz.
“In that environment, with the standards so high, the players knew this guy could take them where they needed to go and to go again. He did that brilliantly.”
Phelan opined that the winning culture was instilled into everyone at the club by Sir Alex and nothing but the very best was acceptable.
He noted that the coaches were simply tasked with offering a little bit of guidance but at the end of the day, it was the responsibility of players to improve and perform on the pitch.
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