“People actually considered me lost” - Cristiano Ronaldo responds to critics who wrote him off after Manchester United stint

Al-Nassr forward Cristiano Ronaldo recently responded to critics who wrote him off following his Manchester United exit and a disappointing 2022 World Cup campaign.

The five-time Ballon d'Or winner was released by the Red Devils after his explosive interview with UK TV personality Piers Morgan, where he criticized manager Erik ten Hag and the club's owners, the Glazer family.

To make matters worse, Ronaldo was woeful at the World Cup in Qatar, managing just one goal as Portugal bowed out in the quarterfinals. However, since moving to Saudi Arabia in December 2022, he seems to have found his goal-scoring touch again.

In a recent interview with Portuguese outlet Record, the Al Nassr forward said (via Fabrizio Romano):

"If you go back and see what happened at Manchester United and the national team, people actually considered me lost. But the truth is that I focused and had a great period at Al Nassr, that's why I scored 54 goals."

In 44 matches for the Saudi Pro League side, he has scored 38 goals and provided 13 assists across competitions.

Cristiano Ronaldo didn't watch The Best FIFA ceremony as Lionel Messi voted best men's player

In the same interview, Cristiano Ronaldo also claimed that he did not watch The Best FIFA 2023 ceremony. His rival, Lionel Messi was voted the best men's player at the event.

He was asked by the interviewer:

"Does it bother you that Saudi Arabia is referred to as the league with less visibility? for example, Lionel Messi recently won the Best award and played practically all year in the MLS, which also doesn’t have the visibility of European football?"

To this, he replied:

“I’m used to it and I know how these organisations work. To be honest I didn’t watch the ceremony of the best awards.”

He was also asked about the controversy over Messi being voted the best player over Erling Haaland. The Manchester City attacker helped his team to the European treble in the 2022-23 season. To this, the Portugal international replied:

“I think that, in a way these awards are losing credibility. We have to analyse the entire season. It’s not to say that Messi didn’t deserve it, or Haaland or even Mbappe, I simple no longer believe in these awards and it’s not because I won at the globe soccer but these are facts, the numbers are there and the numbers don’t deceive. They can’t take this trophy away from me because it’s a reality, So it makes me even happier, because the numbers are facts.”

The Portuguese is yet to win a trophy with Al Nassr, however. They are currently second in the Saudi Pro League table, seven points behind leaders Al Hilal.