“I was too busy helping the youngsters develop” - Ex-Premier League star says he never met Cristiano Ronaldo at Manchester United

Manchester United youth coach Tom Huddlestone recently claimed that he did not meet Cristiano Ronaldo at the club. The two were on the books of the Red Devils in 2022 for a few months before the Portuguese star departed.

Speaking to talkSPORT, Huddlestone stated that he could not get to meet the Al Nassr star as he was busy with the youth side. He added that they used to be in the same building sometimes but often on opposite sides because of their role at the club. He said:

"From my point of view, being a coach with the academy you never really got to see the first-team environment. The club is in the spotlight 24/7 regardless and I think you bring one of the greatest players ever into that environment and it heightened everything. To be fair to him, even at 36/37 years old he was still producing goals on the pitch. [The United youngsters] grew up with Ronaldo being one of the top two players in the world for 10/15 years."

He added:

"So for them, as I say, it elevated the club to a different level, the lads are buzzing, a lot of our players go up and train with the first-team regularly. Once they are in and around players such as that and they see the dedication it takes, whether that is little things like warm-ups and cooldowns, recovery, it is a good insight for them to realise what it takes, not only to get to the top but to stay there for a dozen years. I don't think I actually saw him! We were in the same building but on opposite sides. I was too busy helping the youngsters develop."

Tom Huddlestone joined Manchester United in a player-coach role in the club's under-21 setup in 2022. Cristiano Ronaldo left the Red Devils in November that year after his contract was terminated following the explosive interview with Piers Morgan.

Cristiano Ronaldo took shots at Manchester United before exit

Cristiano Ronaldo was furious with Erik ten Hag and the Manchester United board in 2022. He claimed that he was not respected by the coach as he was often benched and used as a late substitute.

He went on to do an interview with Piers Morgan, where he stated that he did not respect the manager as he was not reciprocating it. He added that the club were stagnant and had not progressed since his departure in 2009 for Real Madrid.

Manchester United decided to terminate Cristiano Ronaldo's contract just days before the FIFA World Cup kicked off in Qatar. He went on to join Al Nassr in Saudi Arabia as a free agent in December 2022.