Cristiano Ronaldo Says Manchester United 'Doubted' Him over Daughter Bella's Illness

Cristiano Ronaldo continued to levy a number of accusations against Manchester United, as a new clip of his incendiary interview with Piers Morgan was released on Monday.

In it, the veteran forward accused senior officials of not believing him over the summer when he told them his daughter Bella was dealing with medical issues.

"I spoke with the director and president of Manchester United. And [they] kind of didn't believe that something was going wrong which was making me feel bad," he said. "They believed, but in the same way, I'm never going to change the health of my family for football. Never. Now, or 10 years behind or forward."

"It's something that really hurt me because they doubted my word that I struggled, especially Bella and Geo [Ronaldo's wife, Georgina Rodriguez] we had one week in hospital because Bella had a big problem. I didn't go to preseason because of that, because I wasn't allowed to leave my family in case something happened to do preseason. I don't think that's fair, to leave my family for preseason, and that's why I didn't go."

According to Luke Brown of The Athletic, Manchester United officials have privately pushed back against Ronaldo's claims, countering that his "time off was sanctioned and [United Manager Erik Ten Hag] only referenced 'personal reasons' during the tour so [as] not to divulge details, while senior officials absolutely believed the reason Ronaldo gave for his absence."

Ronaldo also alleged in his interview with Morgan that United's owners, the Glazer family, don't have the club's best interests at heart:

In clips from the interview that were released on Sunday, Ronaldo said he felt "betrayed" by Ten Hag and several other people at the club and added that he didn't have any respect for the manager because he felt he wasn't shown any respect.

"Some people, I feel, don't want me here," he said. "Not just this year, but last year too."

He also took aim at former United interim manager Ralf Rangnick, who spent part of last year leading the club.

"If you're not even a coach, how are you going to be the boss of Manchester United?" he said to Morgan. "I'd never even heard of him."

It's possible that Ronaldo is going scorched earth in an effort to make himself so toxic that United choose to rip up his contract and allow him to become a free agent. The 37-year-old pushed for a transfer over the summer, ostensibly hoping to land with a Champions League side, but wasn't moved and stayed at Old Trafford.

That has led to a drama-filled season, which included Ronaldo refusing to be subbed on during 2-0 win over Tottenham in late October, leaving the bench before the match concluded and the stadium altogether before his teammates returned to the locker room after the contest.

He was dropped from the team for the next match against Chelsea, but led the line in the club's win over FC Sheriff in the Europa League later that week. Ten Hag then went on to name Ronaldo as the captain for an early November matchup against Aston Villa.

But after the revelations and accusations Ronaldo has made against people across all levels of the club in the interview with Morgan, it's hard to imagine him suiting up for the club again. Whether United will seek a transfer, sever his contract altogether or keep him on the roster but off the team sheet remains to be seen. However, for the time being, the two sides will have a break from each other while Ronaldo is in Qatar with Portugal for the World Cup.