On Monday, Piers Morgan revealed that he had spoken to Cristiano Ronaldo personally about leaving Manchester United to move to Emirates next season.
When Cristiano Ronaldo returned to Old Trafford last summer amid much fanfare, Manchester United fans were overjoyed to see their hero 'come home'. The 37-year-old, who scored his 100th Premier League goal for the club against Arsenal on Saturday, is now hitting the headlines over whether he will stay with the Erik ten Hag's Red Devils or move to another club during the summer transfer window. Football pundit Piers Morgan has a suggestion for the Portugal international - move to Arsenal!
Also read: Ronaldo scores 100th Premier League goal for Man United; dedicates it to deceased son
On Monday, Morgan revealed that he had spoken to Ronaldo personally about leaving United to move to Emirates next season and added that he thought the Portuguese star was 'the best player on the pitch' when the Gunners defeated the Ralf Rangnick side 3-1 over the weekend.
Also read: Why Cristiano Ronaldo did not take the penalty against Arsenal? Ralf Rangnick explains
Morgan also expressed his worry over Ronaldo not being given the right respect the legend deserves in the United dressing room. The football expert is of the opinion that the club's youngsters need to check their 'egos' and remarked that they should be 'begging Ronaldo for advice'.
Speaking to TalkSPORT Breakfast on Monday morning, Morgan said, "When it comes down to money and owners and riches and banking, we've got the richest of all of them. Stan Kroenke has got £10billion. He's married to a woman who has got even more in the Walmart heiress who has £15billion. He's just bought a ranch for £750million. He can afford to buy a couple of strikers!"
"Do you know what I'd do if I was Arsenal manager? I'd go in, get Cristiano Ronaldo and put him upfront. I had this conversation with him last week. I said, "come to Arsenal". The Arsenal and Manchester United thing is very interesting. On paper, United have far more talented players and far more experienced, talented players, but they don't have the right attitude," Morgan added.
"The mental attitude is shocking. Whatever is going on in that club… if they didn't have Ronaldo in the team, they wouldn't be winning, whereas Arsenal has young, hungry, really promising guys who have a great attitude. People like [Bukayo] Saka, [Emile] Smith Rowe, [Kieran] Tierney and all of these guys," the journalist stated.
"That's what's encouraging. If you combined the United talent with our mentality, then both clubs would be sorted. I'm not even joking. I'd love to bring Cristiano Ronaldo to Arsenal. If he's not going to stay at United, I'd take him in a heartbeat. I watched that game at the weekend, and he was the best player on the pitch. As a striker, when you watch Ronaldo's movement and his goalscoring record at 37, I'd put Ronaldo at the front and let these kids learn from him," Morgan remarked.
The football pundit went on to say, "There's a brilliant story from Saturday. I walked into this box, and there was Dennis Bergkamp, my all-time Arsenal hero. I was telling Dennis about how Thierry Henry always gets annoyed when I say that Dennis is my number one when there's a tap on my shoulder, and it's Thierry!"
"I found myself doing a picture with the two of them, then I went down and saw that Arsenal released some footage of them talking to Smith Rowe and Saka, and you could see the awe in those young guys' faces," Morgan added.
"I don't feel like there's that respect from those young guys at United for Ronaldo. I think that the egos are writing cheques that the lack of trophies doesn't cash, and my message to those young United stars is that you're talented, but your egos are out of control, and you should be begging Ronaldo for advice," he opined.
"If you had even a tenth of his work ethic, his ability, his success and his trophies all around the world, then you'd be much better than you are now, but there's an arrogance there about those players which we don't have at Arsenal. That's not the problem. Bring in a couple of world-class players, and then I might start to believe in the process," Morgan concluded.
Ronaldo scored his 100th Premier League goal in a match between Manchester United and Arsenal after skipping the 4-0 drubbing against Liverpool to mourn the death of his newborn son. The striker paid a touching homage to his late son after scoring the goal on Saturday by raising his left hand to the sky to dedicate the only goal scored in the clash to his late son.