'Tougher mindset': Former Man Utd assistant reveals main reason behind Ronaldo's departure

Cristiano Ronaldo is arguably the greatest player to ever don the Manchester United shirt. The Portuguese legend has had two different stints at the club. His initial run began when he was signed by Sir Alex Ferguson and dominated the football world, and the other came in 2021 when a little older version of the legend came to save the sinking club. However, even after he burst his lungs out for the squad, United's overall performance was very much below their standard. 

3 things you need to know 

• Ronaldo and United mutually agreed to terminate the contract in November 2022 
• Ronaldo joined Al-Nassr in January 2023
• Ronaldo still continues to score goals in the best way possible 

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Former Man United assistant reveals a story on Ronaldo’s second stint in the club 

Mike Phelan, who used to be an assistant manager at Manchester United, recently talked about Cristiano Ronaldo's second time at the club and the problems they had to deal with. Ronaldo, who was 37 at the time, came back to Old Trafford after a successful time with Juventus in 2021. It was one of the most emotional transfers for the Manchester United fans.  This move was seen as a crucial step in manager Ole Gunnar Solskjaer's plan to bring back the club's past glory. Manchester United have not been at their best since Sir Alex Ferguson left the club in 2013. 

However, several issues arose due to Cristiano Ronaldo's high standards and the team's poor performance, which prevented their plans from going smoothly. Even though the Portuguese legend had a great season as an individual, scoring 24 goals in 39 games in different tournaments, Manchester United as a team had a disappointing year, as the team lacked effort and hunger to succeed. They finished the season with nothing to show for it and a sixth-place finish in the league, which was a bummer.

During this time, Mike Phelan joined Manchester United to work with Solskjaer as a member of the coaching team. Phelan said that Ronaldo came to Old Trafford as a proven winner with a strong desire to take on challenges.

Cristiano Ronaldo - Manchester United days pic.twitter.com/TD4sZP2myU

— 7 (@NTCF) September 13, 2023

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What did Mike Phelan disclose after Ronaldo’s departure? 

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.

He's still playing international football, yes he's in Saudi Arabia, but he's still playing and scoring goals. He is doing all the things we knew he could do at Manchester United,

Cristiano Ronaldo proved himself in the Saudi Pro League as the player led them to the Arab Champions Cup last month and finished as the top scorer of the tournament. He won the Saudi Pro League Player of the Month in August for scoring 5 goals and providing 4 assists for Al-Nassr. On the other hand, Erik ten Hag is still struggling with Manchester United and currently stands 11th in the EPL table.