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Manchester United boss Ruben Amorim responds to Cristiano Ronaldo: 'We made a lot of mistakes in the past'

Manchester United boss Ruben Amorim was INEOS' first managerial appointment
Ruben Amorim was asked what he made of Cristiano Ronaldo's criticism (Image credit: Getty Images)

Ruben Amorim has responded to Cristiano Ronaldo's comments about the current state of Manchester United.

The club has struggled badly since the departure of iconic manager Sir Alex Ferguson in 2013, when they lost won the Premier League.

Ruben Amorim insists Manchester United are learning from prior mistakes

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There have been signs of improvement from United in recent weeks, with ten points delivered from their past four league games to push United up to eighth, just two points behind second-placed Manchester City.

Still, Ronaldo has delivered some fairly measured and reasonable criticism that isn't really anything that everyone else hasn't been saying for over a decade, so naturally that's become headline news because that's just how these things work.

Cristiano Ronaldo has spoken about the troubles at Manchester United

Cristiano Ronaldo wants Manchester United to be good again. Shocking. (Image credit: Getty Images)

Ronaldo had two spells as a United player, with his most recent coming in 2021-22 but ending unhappily after a fall-out with Erik ten Hag.

In a TV interview, Ronaldo said: "I'm sad because of the club that’s one of the most important clubs in the world, and a club that I still have in my heart because of the obvious reasons.

"You have to follow with the intelligent people, smart people, to create a base for the future as Manchester United [did] so many years ago: Nicky Butt, Gary, Roy Keane, Beckham, they became big players, but they had youth.

"So Manchester United right now, they don't have a structure. I hope that changes in the future, present/future, because the potential of the club, it's amazing. It's one of the most important clubs of the century."

Ronaldo had added of Amorim: "He’s doing his best. What are you going to do? Miracles. Miracles is impossible. They have good players, but they don’t have in mind, some of them, what Manchester United is."

Manchester United boss Ruben Amorim should not be expected to perform miracles

Ruben Amorim is yet to produce either loaves or fishes (Image credit: Getty Images)

The 40 year old's tepid criticism was met with an equally bland response from Amorim, who last November became the first new managerial appointment of the INEOS regime that arrived at the club in early 2024.

Amorim said at his Thursday afternoon press conference: "Of course, he knows he has huge impact [with] everything he says - but what we need to focus on is in future. We know as a club we made a lot of mistakes in the past. We are trying to change that.

"Let’s not focus on what happened. We need to focus on the future. Let’s focus on the way we are doing things. We are changing a lot of things, the structure, the way we want the players to behave, we are improving. Let’s forget a little bit the past."

Steven Chicken

Steven Chicken has been working as a football writer since 2009, taking in stints with Football365 and the Huddersfield Examiner. Steven still covers Huddersfield Town home and away for his own publication, WeAreTerriers.com. Steven is a two-time nominee for Regional Journalist of the Year at the prestigious British Sports Journalism Awards, making the shortlist in 2020 and 2023.

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