Cristiano Ronaldo: Newcastle United 'target' breaks silence on stunning Manchester United interview and future

As revealed last week, Newcastle United have reportedly spoken to Cristiano Ronaldo’s agent Jorge Mendes over the possibility of a January transfer for the Manchester United superstar

Ronaldo is looking to leave Manchester United after falling out of favour at Old Trafford. The Portuguese forward revealed in an interview that he felt betrayed by the club while also criticising the owners and management since his return.

The 37-year-old returned to Man United last summer and enjoyed a solid first season back in England with 24 goals in 36 appearances in all competitions. But this season has been a different story as Ronaldo has found himself in and out of the team and has scored just one league goal so far.

The Red Devils will let the player leave in January providing a club comes in with a suitable offer. And Newcastle reportedly spoke to Ronaldo’s agent in October, according to The Daily Mail.

PA report the Manchester United star was a surprise attendee at a Portugal press conference in Qatar on Monday and made his first public comments since the airing of his headline-grabbing TalkTV interview last week.

Ronaldo was heavily critical of United and boss Erik ten Hag, saying he felt betrayed by the club, who are considering their next steps.

In quotes reported by the Daily Telegraph, Ronaldo insisted the row had not overshadowed Portugal’s World Cup preparations, saying: “The atmosphere is excellent, no problems, we are completely focused.

“You can help by not talking about me. I’m completely bullet-proof and iron-clad. If you ask other players about Cristiano Ronaldo, I would be upset. If you want to ask him about the World Cup and the team, I would like you to do that.”

On the timing of the interview, the 37-year-old added: “Timing is always timing.

“I don’t have to worry about what others think. I talk when I want to. Everybody knows who I am, what I believe in. They have known me (in the Portugal camp) since I was 11. They will not be influenced by what people say and write about me.

“The group is very bonded together. I have no doubt this recent episode, it won’t shape the team.”

Ronaldo also insisted a clip of an apparently awkward greeting between him and United and Portugal team-mate Bruno Fernandes had been misinterpreted.

“We were just playing around, we have great relations,” he said. “His plane was late and I asked him, ‘Did you come by boat’?”

Portugal open their campaign in Group H against Ghana on Thursday.

Ronaldo’s £360,000 per-week wage is likely to price out many potential suitors and would also fall outside Newcastle’s current wage structure which has the club’s highest earners on less than £120,000-per-week.

Newcastle head coach Eddie Howe has also been questioned about Ronaldo but played down the prospect of a move as the club look to invest in younger players with potential.

“We’re trying to provide long-term growth, we’ve got a longer-term vision. At the moment, we have quite an ageing squad, so we probably need to invest in more young players. That’s probably a big part of our progression, really.

“We need to get the average age down, so it might not be a signing that we would necessarily look to make – but not under-estimating the quality of the player.”