FABIO COENTRAO has slammed ex-players for criticising Cristiano Ronaldo – and described his former team-mate as a “fantastic person”.
Ronaldo saw his Manchester United contract terminated following an interview with Piers Morgan in which he took aim at the club and boss Erik ten Hag.
In the days after the sit down with Piers, some of Ronaldo’s former team-mates have commented on the situation.
The two most notable have been Wayne Rooney and Gary Neville.
The Portugal ace said in the interview that he thinks Rooney is jealous of him, although the ex-England captain was confused by his comments.
Meanwhile, Ronaldo said that Neville isn’t his friend, just weeks after ignoring him before United’s game against West Ham at Old Trafford.
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Ronaldo greeted Jamie Redknapp and Louis Saha, but left Neville with egg on his face.
And Coentrao, who played alongside Ronaldo at club and international level, reckons the criticism is wrong.
He told Record PT: “I don’t feel motivated to talk but I had to because I don’t like to hear what they say about Cristiano.
“There are ex-players who were nothing, they were s**t, and they talk about Cristiano as if they were something [in football].
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“They don’t have to talk like that. Even if he’s not performing at his level, it’s pretty ugly.
“People start talking about him, saying he gets along badly with his team-mates and things get misinterpreted.
“It’s a horrible thing, I know how he is. I lived with him for many years and he doesn’t have to tell me how things are: I know.
“It’s impossible that Cristiano doesn’t get along with Bruno [Fernandes] or with one of his team-mates, [because he is a] fantastic person.”
Source: Soccer - thesun.co.uk
