Cristiano Ronaldo confirms retirement plans to Piers Morgan

Manchester United’s wantaway forward Cristiano Ronaldo confirmed to Piers Morgan when he plans to retire in a bombshell TalkTV interview.

The 37-year-old has caused massive controversy after his scathing remarks on Man Utd and the club’s manager Erik ten Hag in a 90-minute interview that will be aired on Wednesday and Thursday.

On ‘Piers Morgan Uncensored’ Ronaldo said he feels “betrayed” by the club and that he does not respect manager Erik ten Hag. He also claimed that Man Utd are trying to force him out against his will.

A Man Utd statement said the club had "noted the media coverage".

Retirement plans

One of several topics discussed by Morgan and Ronaldo was when the five-time Balon d’Or winner plans to retire.

The Portugal star, who is poised to jet off to Qatar for what many expect to be his final World Cup, said that he plans to retire “around 40”.

Speaking on TalkSport, Morgan revealed: ​​“He said he wants to retire around 40 to me.

“So he’s got two-and-a-half years to finish but most of all, he wants to be respected and valued and he doesn’t feel that under Ten Hag.

“That’s why he’s said what he’s said and he feels this manager doesn’t respect him.”

Ronaldo has previously admitted he would like to be involved in Euro 2024 and believes he can play into his 40s.

Morgan continued: “He (Ronaldo) said from the very start that he (Ten Hag) has tried to go out of his way to score points with Ronaldo and he thinks it’s very easy for managers to do that because he’s the biggest name and biggest star and he can often get the headlines to distract from real problems at the club.”

When was the interview recorded?

There has been some conversation as to when Ronaldo and Morgan recorded the interview, and how it was set up.

Morgan claimed: “Cristiano asked me to do it, simple as that, he asked me,” he said.

“Recently, he’s been thinking about it for a while, it’s no secret he’s felt a deep built-up frustration about what’s been happening at Manchester United.

“I’m not going to say [when the interview took place]. [We’d] done it recently but that’s between me and Cristiano.

“He’s been thinking about this for a while then I got a call ‘I want to do it now’ and I think part of the timing was the World Cup is about to start.”