Piers Morgan sends a Christmas message from himself and Cristiano Ronaldo to their biggest haters

Piers Morgan has sent a short but sweet Christmas message to his and Cristiano Ronaldo's haters following a week of controversial debate.

The TalkTV presenter is a vocal supporter of his close friend Ronaldo, who he interviewed last month to worldwide interest.

Ronaldo lambasted Manchester United's hierarchy as well as manager Erik ten Hag. The club had no choice but to terminate his contract via mutual consent during the World Cup.

Out in Qatar, Ronaldo scored one goal for Portugal but lost his place in the starting XI. Ronaldo was dropped to the bench in Portugal's 6-1 victory over Switzerland in the round of 16, with replacement Goncalo Ramos scoring a hat-trick.

The five-time Ballon d'Or winner came off the bench in his side's 1-0 quarter-final defeat to Morocco, leaving the pitch in tears in what could be his final World Cup appearance.

To make matters worse, Argentina and longtime rival Lionel Messi would win the competition after a 4-2 penalty shootout win over France.

Supporters online believe it's settled the 'GOAT' debate between Ronaldo and Messi, with the latter comfortably moving ahead of the former.

Ronaldo will always have one fan, though. Morgan's spent his week criticising Messi for posting too much on Instagram in addition to not winding his teammates in after their mocking of Paris Saint-Germain superstar Kylian Mbappe.

Naturally, the debate has gotten very toxic. Morgan attempted to calm things down on Thursday with a simple message.

"A festive message to all our haters," he wrote on Twitter. Attached was a picture of himself and Ronaldo wearing Santa hats, along with the additional text: "Merry Cris-mas."

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Ronaldo is yet to make a decision on his new club. The 37-year-old reportedly has a lucrative proposal from Saudi Arabian outfit Al-Nassr on the table.

Spanish publication Marca claim Ronaldo will put pen to paper on a seven-year deal, with two-and-a-half of those being as a player.

The remaining four-and-a-half will see him take up an ambassadorial role for the country ahead of their 2030 World Cup bid alongside Egypt and Greece.

United started life without Ronaldo with a 2-0 win over Burnley in the Carabao Cup on Wednesday. Goals from Christian Eriksen and Marcus Rashford were enough to guarantee United passage to the quarter-finals.

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The Red Devils paid tribute to Ronaldo in their pre-match programme sold at Old Trafford.

It read: "Cristiano Ronaldo left the club by mutual agreement last month. The Portuguese superstar scored 145 goals across two spells and 436 appearances and helped us win three Premier League titles, one FA Cup, two League Cups, the Champions League and the FIFA Club World Cup.

"Ronaldo was also crowned Ballon d'Or winner in 2008. In a statement on November 22, the club put on record its gratitude for Cristiano's immense contribution and wished him and his family well for the future."