New Delhi, Dec 28: Cristiano Ronaldo, who won the Best Middle East Player of 2024 award at the Globe Soccer awards, spoke on his former team Manchester United struggles and remained adamant that the problem lies much deeper than the head coaches. "The Premier League it's the most difficult league in the world. the teams are good, all the teams fight, all the teams run, all the players are strong. Football is different right now. There's no easy games anymore.
"I said this one and a half years ago, and I will continue to say it: The problem is not the coaches. It's like an aquarium. If you have the fish inside and he's sick and you take him out and you fix the problem and you put him again in an aquarium they will be sick again. "If I will be the owner of the club, I will make things clear and adjust what I think is bad there," said Ronaldo at the event.
Manchester United lost 0-2 against the Wolverhampton Wanderers on Boxing Day and have heavily struggled throughout the season. The side currently sits in 14th place in the Premier League table ahead of their game against Newcastle United on Tuesday. Since Amorim’s arrival, after he replaced Erik Ten Hag, the side has only won two league games in seven outings and will need to find form as they crossed the mid-season mark with 18 games played.
“He (Amorim) did a fantastic job in Portugal with my (former club) Sporting but the Premier League is a different beast, the most competitive league in the world. I knew that it would be tough and they will continue the storm. But the storm will finish and the sun will rise,” he added. The Portuguese striker also went on to say that the 2024 Men’s Ballon d’Or award should have gone to Real Madrid’s Vinicius Jr over Manchester City midfielder Rodri.
"In my opinion, he (Vinícius) deserved to win the golden ball (Ballon d'Or award)," Ronaldo said. "It was unfair in my opinion. I say here in front of everybody. They give it to Rodri, he deserved it too, but they should have given it to Vinícius because he won the Champions League and scored in the final," he said. Vinicius played a crucial role in Real Madrid’s La Liga and UEFA Champions League triumphs in the 2023-24 season. The forward scored as many as 21 goals and 11 assists across both competitions, thus setting a benchmark for himself in European football.