(CNN) — No one seems to be safe from the wrath of Cristiano Ronaldo for now.
The superstar is at war with his current club and is clearly not inspired by Manchester United’s owners, the Glazer family.
In an explosive interview with Piers Morgan for TalkTV, Ronaldo says the owners “don’t care regarding the club”.
“Manchester is a marketing club,” he says, in an interview that has been previewed this week ahead of its full release on Wednesday and Thursday.
“They’ll get marketing money — the sport, it’s… they don’t really care, in my opinion.”
The Glazer family became majority shareholders in the club in 2005, but their involvement has never pleased most fans.
Ronaldo, who says he never met the owners, told TalkTV that not enough has been invested in the training facilities and that many things have remained the same since he first left the club in 2009.
He says there are “things inside the club” that prevent Manchester United from reaching the top level and competing with the likes of Manchester City, Liverpool and now league leaders Arsenal.
United have not won a major trophy in five years and Ronaldo says he does not see the club as a major force for the next two or three years.
“The fans are always right. I think the fans should know the truth, they should know that the players want the best for the club,” Ronaldo added.
“I want the best for the club. That’s why I came to Manchester United. That’s why I love this club.”
Rooney and Neville ‘are not friends’
Ronaldo also lavished criticism on his former teammates Wayne Rooney and Gary Neville, who have criticized the Portuguese star in recent weeks.
He added that Rooney, who is the current DC United manager, might be jealous because he no longer plays at the highest level.
“It’s hard to hear that kind of criticism and negativity regarding the people who played with you,” says Ronaldo, adding that Neville and Rooney were not his friends.
“It is easy to criticize. I don’t know if they have a TV job that they have to criticize to be more famous, I really don’t understand.
I think they take advantage of [mi nombre] because they are not stupid.
In the first clip of the interview broadcast on Sunday, Ronaldo says he felt “betrayed“for the club and that he had no respect for current manager Erik ten Hag.
This comes during a difficult season for the 37-year-old Ronaldo, who has seen his playing time limited and has scored just one league goal.
As well as struggling on the pitch, Ronaldo has suffered anguish off it. Earlier this year, he and his partner, Georgina Rodríguez, announced that they had lost a baby.
The Portugal star had announced in October 2021 that he and Rodríguez were expecting twins. In December, they announced that they were expecting a boy and a girl.
Ronaldo says his daughter had also ended up in hospital this year and that was the reason he missed most of his pre-season training sessions with the club.
However, he says the club “didn’t believe” he was dealing with his family problems.
Manchester United issued a statement on its website saying it “notes the media coverage of a Cristiano Ronaldo interview.”
He added: “The club will consider their response following all the facts have been established.
“Our focus remains on preparing for the second half of the season and continuing the momentum, faith and togetherness that is being built between the players, coach, staff and fans.”
Ronaldo will play for Portugal at Qatar 2022 this month before returning to Manchester where there are sure to be some tough talks.
