Ralf Rangnick has responded after Cristiano Ronaldo claimed he had ‘never even heard’ of him before he arrived at Manchester United as interim manager.
Rangnick was in charge of the Premier League giants for most of the 2021-22 season following his appointment in November.
The vastly experienced German took over from Ole Gunnar Solskjaer and was due to remain at Old Trafford for a further two years in a consultancy role.
New manager Erik ten Hag decided not to rely on Rangnick, however, and the 64-year-old left United by mutual consent, subsequently taking over the Austria national team.
Rangnick had managed several teams in Germany before his spell at Old Trafford but Ronaldo, speaking in an explosive interview with Piers Morgan, claims he had ‘never heard’ of him.
‘After Ole (Gunnar Solskjaer), they bring in sport director Ralf Rangnick, which is something nobody understands,’ Ronaldo, 37, said.
‘This guy is not even a coach. A big club like Manchester United bringing in a sport director surprised not only me but all the world.
‘If you’re not even a coach, how are you going to be the boss of Manchester United? I’d never even heard of him.’
Asked about Ronaldo’s comments, Rangnick said on Tuesday: ‘I’m the team boss of Austria’s national team, it’s not my job to judge that. It’s the job of Manchester United and the sports journalists there.’
Rangnick was not the only recipient of Ronaldo’s wrath. The Portugal legend said he felt ‘betrayed’ by Manchester United and does not respect current manager Ten Hag.
Ronaldo, who has only scored one Premier League goal this season, also took aim at Old Trafford legends Wayne Rooney and Gary Neville for daring to criticise him.
Former Manchester United defender Rio Ferdinand sees no way back for Ronaldo at the Theatre of Dreams and says his ‘love affair’ with the club is ‘finished’.
‘I’m quite clear with this situation. It’s over. That love affair with Manchester United is finished. The book has been closed,’ he said on Vibe with Five.
‘He’s snookered the club and put them into a position where there’s no way back. Whether anyone at the club wanted to keep Ronaldo, they can’t now after what he’s said.
‘If that interview was two minutes long and not an hour or two, and he said that comment there, that ‘I don’t respect the manager’, regardless of everything else he’s said that is going to be the reason why he goes.’
The Manchester United great added: ‘You can’t sit here and defend that from Cristiano Ronaldo because, deep down, and I know for a fact, this has all been manufactured for one thing and that’s for him to leave the club.
‘I don’t feel like the club will take him back and I don’t think that he wants to come back, that’s a given, and I think this is all manufactured for that reason, that he wants to get out of this place.’
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