Gary Neville has lifted the lid on his relationship with Cristiano Ronaldo after the Portuguese star's infamous on-pitch insult.
Ronaldo was accused of knocking out Gary Neville live on Sky Sports ahead of Manchester United's Premier League match against West Ham in October 2022.
During pre-match preparation, the icon exchanged pleasantries with former teammate Louis Saha and Jamie Redknapp but left without acknowledging broadcast colleague Neville.
The situation stemmed from Ronaldo's antics when he was on the bench for United's 2-0 win over Tottenham two weeks earlier.
He was seen storming through the tunnel in the closing stages of the match after former United boss Erik ten Hag opted not to feature him.
The stinging act resulted in him being dropped for the 1-1 draw against Chelsea the following week, leading to Neville admitting he wanted Ronaldo to 'leave the club'.
Neville said at the time: “For me, Erik ten Hag had no choice, no option. Cristiano has left the ground twice, you can't do that.
“On the eve of the preparation he asked for a transfer, he is building up a list. It is a messy ending and Ten Hag is trying to take control.
“Ending the truce this week or making a truce to go to the World Cup doesn't do him any good. Leaving the locker room before working full-time is not what he does. If you do things like that, you should leave.”
Ronaldo has since kept his distance from the Sky Sports pundit, something his broadcasting colleagues regularly say about Marcel.
And with Ronaldo scoring again on international duty, Neville was quizzed by colleague Jamie Carragher about his relationship with the Portuguese superstar.
He told The Overlap US: “He was never my friend.
“To be honest, the situation at United at the end, he was going to do that interview with Piers Morgan, I personally didn't think it was the right way to end it.
“I feel like he's a guy who has basically accomplished everything in the game and more.
“He has 910 goals, which is absolutely outrageous. And he is going to finish with 1,000 goals. There is no way that man, with the way he believes and thinks, is going to finish without 1,000 goals. He will continue until he reaches his goal .” there.
“The way he gets there and keeps going is incredible. His determination and his willingness to keep going every year and stay professional is fantastic.”
Following further criticism from Carragher over Ronaldo's criticism of Neville in 2022, he added: “To be honest, I never spoke to him for eight or nine years before that.
“I wasn't friends with Cristiano when I was at the club. He was a great teammate, a special player.
“I believe he helped Manchester United a lot at the time and I believe Manchester United were very good to him as well, as were the senior players around him in terms of the principles and that's where I was ultimately disappointed with him at United. ” .
“There was a group of young players at United at that time, like Marcus Rashford and Mason Greenwood and a few other young players who were struggling with the pressure and fame of Man United. He was a man who could carry this on his shoulders. shoulders galore.
“I expected at that moment that he wouldn't be the guy sulking on the bench behind the Brentford manager.
“I didn't expect him to wander off the pitch at the end of the Everton game when he was substituted early in the Ole game. [Gunnar Solskjaer] era.
“Such things are not his.”
Neville continued: “There are times when the leader stands up, as Harry Kane has done with England, and speaks with authority to ensure standards are upheld.
Arsenal fans are furious with historic video of Gary Neville thanking the referee for the game against Manchester United
“I felt at times that wasn't happening at United, but I'm sure he was incredibly frustrated with the level of footballer and the football he was witnessing because he has incredible standards.”
“I see it from his side, but it's just a difference in how to deal with it, I think.”
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