Cristiano Ronaldo is ‘immeasurably better’ than any of Manchester United’s strikers and Erik ten Hag is an idiot for letting him leave.
That’s the view of Piers Morgan, who insists any talk of Ronaldo being past it is ‘b******’.
The 39-year-old netted his 901st career goal on Sunday, bagging a late winner in Portugal’s 2-1 victory over Scotland in the Nations League.
It’s his second goal of the international break following his effort against Croatia that sealed another 2-1 win for his country.
After failing to score at Euro 2024, Ronaldo was questioned by fans and pundits wondering if his time at the elite level of football was over.
But Morgan insists his Nations League performances show he’s still got it.
Speaking to talkSPORT Breakfast, Morgan said: “The idea that anyone thinks after watching the last two Portugal games that Ronaldo is finished or that somehow he’s taken the easy gravy train in Saudi Arabia and therefore he can’t be taken seriously as a player.
“All this bulls*** I’ve been hearing about it like, come on, look at the guy as Roy Keane, who I think is one of the most perceptive eyes for footballers in the world.
“As he said this week, there is no better finisher than Cristiano Ronaldo still out there as he’s shown.
“Last night he hit the post, then he scored. He had a disappointing Euros, but certainly Portugal did collectively. I don’t think he got the service he should have got.
“But the truth is Ronaldo remains one of the most lethal finishers in world football.”
And when he was asked why Manchester United let him go if that was the case, Morgan didn’t hold back.
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“Because Ten Hag is a complete idiot,” he said. “I’m sorry, he is. He has been since he went there, right? He talks in complete gibberish.
“He’s now banging on about Harry Potter or something. Ten Hag is everything Ronaldo told me he was in that interview, which led to him leaving United.
“The biggest problem with Ten Hag, he’s like that bossy little school teacher you get who doesn’t know how to handle supreme academic talent.”
Morgan believes there’s a trend of the Red Devils manager not being able to cope with ‘top’ talent, too.
That includes Jadon Sancho, who has left on loan again and signing for Chelsea after falling out with Ten Hag.
He continued: “So you look at the players he’s been unable to handle at United. Cristiano Ronaldo, Jadon Sancho, Marcus Rashford. It’s all the top players.
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“He can handle the lesser rung. He can handle the guys he brings in from Ajax who’ve never been on the big world stage, but he cannot handle top players.
“I can’t believe I’m saying this because it’s a miracle, but they’ve actually gotten worse than they were last season.
“So Cristiano Ronaldo, had he stayed at Manchester United, would have been immeasurably better than any of the strikers they’ve currently got as he’s proving for Portugal
“The guys, the greatest that has ever played the game, the greatest that will ever play the game. That’s why he’s the number one scorer. That’s why he’ll get to a thousand goals.”
Morgan has formed a strong friendship with Ronaldo, hosting the Portugal legend’s explosive interview in which he aired all his grievances with Man United in November 2022.
The forward soon ended his second spell at Old Trafford after that, signing for Al Nassr in the Saudi Pro League.
His contract expires next June.
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