"Turned his back on the club" - Ale Moreno says Manchester United superstar Cristiano Ronaldo trying to protect himself makes him look 'petty'

Former footballer Ale Moreno has slammed Cristiano Ronaldo for his recent comments on Manchester United and Erik ten Hag. He believes the forward spoke against the club and the manager to get himself over with the fans and to stay in the limelight.

Ronaldo did an exclusive interview with Piers Morgan and slammed Manchester United. He said the club have betrayed him and that he does not respect the new manager.

Speaking on ESPN FC, Moreno was not ready to let Ronaldo take the shine off Manchester United right now and claimed the interview was done just because he wanted to keep himself in the headlines.

He added that the forward is not talking out of love for the club and said:

"Ronaldo knows himself that he's no longer the player that he once was, the evidence now is in front of him, not because he's not out there playing, but because he's not out there playing and that team is winning without him. So, therefore, that's the real dagger.

"That's the one that truly hurts, the fact that the team looks better without him on the field. And that in itself is going to create this feeling of, well, now I have to speak out because I know my time is coming to an end."

He continued:

"And this has nothing to do with the love for the club. This has everything to do with the love for Cristiano Ronaldo and him taking care of himself. We just talk about the idea of players protecting themselves. This is exactly what he's doing.

"I'm going to get my side of the story out there because I don't want anybody to control it for me, I'm going to control it, and I'm going to say what I need to say because I'm Cristiano Ronaldo and I deserve that much."

Moreno went on to say:

"But when you come out and say things like this, I don't think you garner respect or support. I think you garner a feeling of petty that you come across as being petty and vindictive.

"You don't come out as the guy who has the right answers. You come out as the guy who now has turned his back on the club and on everybody else that is involved with Manchester United."

Cristiano Ronaldo at Manchester United this season

Cristiano Ronaldo was not a part of the pre-season at Manchester United this season for personal reasons. He joined the players late in the summer and played the final friendly - against Rayo Vallecano at Old Trafford - but left the stadium at halftime.

Reports suggested that the Portuguese star was looking to leave the club and was trying to find a Champions League side for himself. However, he failed to secure a move away as the likes of Chelsea, Bayern Munich, Barcelona and Napoli ruled out moves for the forward.

Cristiano Ronaldo has scored three goals for Manchester United in all competitions this season in 16 matches.