'You can understand why he may have wanted a change when you see players like Lionel Messi scoring goals for fun in the Champions League.'
: “When Erik ten Hag and Cristiano Ronaldo first met in pre-season, Cristiano asked to leave the club, so for him to stay, he would have wanted guarantees that he was going to play and be a big part of the squad.
“You can understand why he may have wanted a change when you see players like Lionel Messi scoring goals for fun in the Champions League. “Just as a frame of reference, when I was a player, I had really bad injuries after injuries but I had the support of Sir Alex Ferguson because he believed in me, which made me try so much on my return. Cristiano has delivered so much. I do believe he has been treated harshly in some ways and he could have been punished in different ways because he’s not a normal player.