Cristiano Ronaldo has left Manchester United following a difficult second spell and has moved to Saudi Arabia to sign with Al Nassr.
Eric Cantona, who retired just before turning 31, believes that Ronaldo is a very different kind of footballer to him, as the Portuguese isn’t willing to accept that he is losing his skills with age.
“He came back here and Manchester United wasn’t the Manchester United he left and sometimes he doesn’t realise things changed, so maybe he was surprised so many things changed,” Cantona said in an interview with the Manchester Evening News.
“I think you have two kinds of players at the end of their career. Me, I decided to retire young, that’s another thing.
“And then the one who wants to play and play until the age of 40 years old.
“You have two kind of players. You have the one who wants to play every game because they still think they’re 25 years old and the ones who realise they are not 25 years old and they are here to help the young players.
“They know they will not play every game, they know they will play some games, but their part is to help the young players, like Zlatan Ibrahimovic still does with AC Milan, or Ryan Giggs or Paolo Maldini did.
“But I think Ronaldo didn’t realise, and he still doesn’t realise, that he’s not 25 years old.
“He’s just older and he should have realised that instead of being not happy to play some games, say, ‘okay, I am not 25 years old, I cannot play every game, but I will help the young players and accept that situation and that’s my situation’.”
Cantona reflects on growing old
Speaking in a more general sense, Cantona reflected on his own life and acceptance of getting older.
“You have to accept [growing older] in everything we do, not only in football,” he added.
“I cannot run as fast as when I was 30 years old, I have to accept it. I have to accept I will die someday.
“It’s difficult to accept it but we have to. And the end of a career is like dying. It’s a little death.
“You can sing until you’re 80 years old, you can act until you’re 80 years old, but footballers or sportsmen know that, after 30 or 33 or so, it becomes physically more difficult every day.
“You have to accept that, or you retire or you say I will help the young generation.”
Erik ten Hag Man Utd dressing room influence clear after fixing Cristiano Ronaldo split
Manchester United were rumoured to have a divided dressing room last season – but Erik ten Hag has quite literally united their squad together since his arrival last summer
Erik ten Hag’s side had a united desire to beat Southampton after Casemiro’s red card on Sunday afternoon – something that would have been unthinkable last season.
Manchester United were held to a goalless draw after Casemiro was shown his marching orders during the first half, but the reaction of Ten Hag’s players suggest they wanted more.
David de Gea has revealed Manchester United’s desire to beat Southampton (Image: Sky Sports)
That is far cry from last term, when rumours of a dressing room split between the Portuguese speakers – such as Cristiano Ronaldo and Bruno Fernandes – and the non-Portuguese speakers dominated the back pages. United players have since dispelled these reports – but that did not stop them from causing chaos under Ralf Rangnick.
Casemiro was sent off for a reckless challenge on Southampton midfielder Carlos Alcaraz. He was initially booked by referee Anthony Taylor, but that decision was changed when VAR official Marc Perry advised his colleague to consult the pitch-side monitor.
The Brazilian was devastated by the decision and struggled to hold back his tears. Antony consoled his compatriot before telling him, “I will win this game for you”.
There was a similar attitude in United’s dressing room at half-time, as revealed by David de Gea. The goalkeeper was asked by MUTV if United believed they could still win the game after Casemiro’s dismissal. De Gea replied, “Of course, that’s what we said at half-time.”
Antony promised to win Sunday’s game for Casemiro ( Image: Premier League Productions)
The words of Antony and De Gea speak volumes about the impact Ten Hag made at Old Trafford. Although United are still vulnerable to the odd collapse – such as their record-breaking 7-0 loss to Liverpool earlier this month – they are much more resilient unit.
United’s position in the table suggests as much. They are third in the Premier League, six points ahead of Newcastle in fifth having played a game more. That is a huge improvement from last season, when they finished sixth in the Premier League under Rangnick.
United also ended their six-year wait for a trophy last month by beating Newcastle 2-0 in the Carabao Cup final. There is a good chance more silverware might be on the horizon for the Red Devils, as they are still going strong in the FA Cup and Europa League.
United were plagued by reports of division last season, as well as dressing room leaks. Fewer private conversations have leaked out of Old Trafford since Ten Hag’s appointment, with club CEO Richard Arnold telling fans the situation was resolved last June.
Cristiano Ronaldo left Old Trafford nearly four months ago ( Image: Getty Images)
Gary Neville insisted he knew who the leaks were in a scathing rant last February. He told Sky Sports, “They are at it, the PR teams, the agents and the marketing teams, as a self-preservation for their own player. But what they do not realise is that unfortunately, when they go to the media then those media people go to us – so we know who is briefing.
“The reality is that we do not like it, but we know who it is. We are not going to throw people under a bus here because we have that journalistic respect… They need to stop it and work as hard as they can.”
It appears Neville’s request was heard. United’s dressing room is quite literally united again, and Ten Hag will be hoping his team will be successful years to come.
