In an exclusive interview with BoyleSports, Rene Meulensteen shares his insights on the pivotal role Cristiano Ronaldo's ego has played in his enduring success.
Meulensteen, a former Man United First Team Coach who worked with the football legend, reflects on Ronaldo's unrelenting work ethic, which has driven him to maintain his high standards even at 39 years old.
The former Manchester United assistant also discusses how Ronaldo’s passion for the game will dictate the timing of his retirement.
He also provides a comparison between Sir Alex Ferguson's management style and Manchester United’s current challenges, and gives his take on what two Man United young forwards are lacking along with other pressing issues at the club.
Cristiano Ronaldo’s Ego Key To His Lasting Success
It’s true that Cristiano Ronaldo’s ego has been the key to his lasting success and that’s in a good way, he refuses to ever let his standards drop.
He would never turn up to training and give anything less than his maximum effort and you can see that is still the same now at 39 years of age.
He’d never even sprint at 70%, he is all or nothing and has worked so hard on the pitch as well as on his brand, he has a billion followers and he can do whatever he wants next.
He does everything to the best of his ability and always pushes his own standards forward.
Ronaldo Won’t Retire Until He Can’t Play At The Top Level
Cristiano Ronaldo will choose to retire when he feels he can no longer play at the very top, he is never going to drop deep and play in another position.
His passion for the game and to play for his country is exemplary. It's just unbelievable really and we've been very fortunate over the last almost 20 years that we've had players of the ilk of Cristiano and Lionel Messi.
They drove each other to such a high level and both have been absolutely world-class.
I can only speak for Cristiano because there was a short spell in his career in which I worked with him. I think everything he's achieved he has deserved because he himself was always the main motivator behind all his success.
What Sir Alex Ferguson Would Have Done With This Man United Team
One thing you see in this current Man Utd side you would never have seen under Sir Alex Ferguson is a lack of effort, Alex reiterated the most important quality of every performance is hard work.
He always said that when you stop working hard and when you stop putting your effort in, the quality will never shine. So he would reiterate that.
When it comes to players like Marcus Rashford, he would have some good and serious conversations with Marcus and first of all, put an arm around him.
He would reiterate what a good player he is, reiterate the fact that he is a Man United player through and through and tell him what the expectations and what his responsibilities are.
It all comes down to confidence. That's what you need to try to get back in those players and that comes from training to be taken into matches.
You want to see players enjoying their football and playing with a smile, at the moment you have to wonder if these players are enjoying themselves and Rashford is a great example of that not being the case at the moment.
Hojlund and Zirkzee Not Goalscorers
When we talk about Joshua Zirkzee, I don’t think he is an out and out striker, he is good at linking play.
With Rasmus Hojlund, he is more of a nine and wants to get on the end of things and score goals and that is so important for the creative players in the team to work with.
I think both players can score goals, but neither of them are goalscorers. You can’t compare them to Erling Haaland, Harry Kane or Kylian Mbappe who score 25 goals plus easily every season.
They both have potential, and I’d like to see both Hojlund and Zirkzee into the team by moving the other players to accommodate them and possibly playing with a different system.
Teams would rather play against one of Hojlund and Zirkzee than both of them.
Gary Neville’s ‘Disgusting’ Description Fair In Wake Of Spurs Performance
Disgusting is a very strong word for Gary Neville to use, but he’s aware of his position and the responsibility he decided to say it.
The criticism is mainly down to the lack of effort from the players, there's always games in which you might not play well, but Gary was referring to the lack of effort, I think.
There was a lack of desire, a lack of heart and effort in the game against Spurs. Spurs played really well and had a clear game plan while Manchester United had no answers and didn’t manage to find them.
So often in football, you see games of two halves, but Bruno Fernandes being sent off threw another spanner in the works.
Credit to Tottenham, they got the chance early in the second half and they took it and that was game over, but overall, it was one of the worst Man Utd performances we’ve seen for a long time.
The Key to Jadon Sancho’s Turnaround in Form
Jadon Sancho is obviously relaxed and is enjoying his football at Chelsea, he is showing his talent and his creative ability again.
That’s what you want from your attacking players, but he was disconnected from Erik ten Hag because they don’t see eye to eye.
Jadon very clearly saw his future somewhere else and that might’ve been due to the pressure of playing for Manchester United when it comes to performing week in and week out.
Man Utd’s attacking players are always judged on their individual actions, assists and goals and he was scrutinised on social media. Chelsea looks like a more comfortable environment for him to flourish.
The 4 Key Areas In Which Man United Need To Improve
Manchester United need to improve in four key areas, their defensive shape and pressing identity, defensive transition and ability to keep possession.
From a defensive point of view, I think they need to get far more clarity regarding the shape they want to defend from and when they press high on the front foot understanding the cues to do so.
Too often Manchester United get caught in defensive transition when in possession or trying to go forward. Therefore other players not involved in build up or attack must look after the rest of the defence.
If you decide to defend from a deeper block again, you must make sure that there is a small distance between the back line and the forwards. They have been too stretched and the midfielders don’t have the legs to cover the distance.
They also need to work on their ability to retain possession, if you’re organised then you can keep the ball for long periods and find ways of exploiting the weaknesses of the opposition, create chances and score goals.
We all know the way Tottenham play, for instance, so United need to be exposing the high line because they have fantastic passers of the ball and pace up front.
These are the four things Man Utd need to look at.
Christian Eriksen’s Recent Performances
Christian Eriksen has shown what a top top professional he is by coming back into the team this season.
I've always been a big fan of Eriksen and the type of player he is, he's got Scholes-esque qualities in being calm on the ball and seeing passes that other players don’t see, while also having an eye for a goal.
The area in which Eriksen is struggling a little bit is similar to Casemiro, they don’t have the legs to cover large distances between the defence and the forwards.
But they're still very good players, intelligent players who are very good with the ball, the issue just comes with having to cover the distances which opposition teams take advantage of.
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