WHY IT ALL WENT RON

Ex-Reds coach Phelan believes Ronaldo's United return was doomed as he was so shocked by the fall in standards

- DAVID MCDONNELL

CRISTIANO RONALDO'S return to Manchester United was doomed because he could not handle players failing to reach his high standards, according to Mike Phelan.

Former United assistant boss Phelan worked with Ronaldo in both the forward's spells at Old Trafford, and reckoned his much-heralded return failed because of the superstar's ego and strong will.

Ronaldo, 38, left by mutual consent 10 months ago after giving an explosive interview in which he said he had no respect for boss Erik ten Hag and felt "betrayed" by the club. The Portuguese icon scored 145 goals in 346 games in his two spells at the Reds, but could not accept the drop in standards he encountered when he returned in 2020 after 12 years away.

"The second time round, he came in a lot older and a lot more opinionated, strong-willed," said Phelan (with Ronaldo, Sir Alex Ferguson and Ole Gunnar Solskjaer, above right).

"He still had massively high standards and was terrific to work with. But I would probably say a tougher mindset.