Former Man United assistant says Ronaldo lost “a few people along the way” during second stint at Old Trafford

Cristiano Ronaldo’s second stint at Man United ended in disaster and former assistant manager, Mike Phelan, has opened up about the superstar’s most recent time at Old Trafford. 

Phelan was assistant to Ole Gunnar Solskjaer between the years 2019-2022 and the pair brought Ronaldo back to Manchester during the summer of 2021.

The legendary forward’s impact on Solskjaer’s team was clear as the Portuguese international was scoring goals but the team overall had gone backwards.

Phelan has now stated that Ronaldo arrived at the club with high standards but the demands he was putting on his teams may have lost them – which also shows why that Man United team were not successful

Speaking about Ronaldo’s second spell at Manchester United, Phelan told Sky Sports: “The second time around, 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.

“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.

“And he probably realised, and I don’t know as I never had that conversation with him, that he couldn’t be successful at Manchester United. So his challenges were elsewhere.”

?? Mike Phelan on Cristiano Ronaldo’s second spell at Manchester United: "The second time around, 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.

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Ronaldo would leave United during the 2023 January transfer window as Erik ten Hag didn’t have major plans for him in his team. The superstar annoyed a lot of fans of the Manchester club by the way he left as he trashed the Dutch coach and club during an interview with Piers Morgan.

It was a PR disaster for the Portuguese star but this recent anecdote from Phelan shows he is still a winner and that Solskjaer’s United team were far from that.