Cristiano Ronaldo highlighted only three Manchester United players as ‘top professionals’ while reflecting on his second tenure at the club.
Earlier this week, Marcus Rashford seemingly responded to rumors questioning his professionalism, telling journalist Henry Winter that he is “ready” for a new challenge.
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“I do feel misunderstood but I’m fine with it,” he said. “I’m a very simple person. I love football. That’s been my life from the beginning.”
Rashford was left out of Ruben Amorim’s squad for last weekend’s Premier League game against Manchester City, sparking questions about his professionalism and attitude.
Amorim clarified that the exclusion of both Alejandro Garnacho and Rashford was not due to disciplinary reasons but seemed to hint at their training performances.
Despite this, Ronaldo did not mention Rashford when he identified three players he considered “top professionals” during his second stint at Old Trafford.
The five-time Ballon d’Or winner did commend his fellow Portugal international Diogo Dalot for his professionalism, predicting he would maintain a high level for a long time.
Ronaldo also highlighted Lisandro Martinez and Casemiro, his former teammate at Real Madrid, for their dedication.
Asked about which players he admires in the infamous interview with Piers Morgan, Ronaldo replied: “In Manchester United I can mention Dalot, he’s young, but very professional but I don’t doubt that he’s going to have longevity in football because he’s young, he’s smart, intelligent and he’s very professional.”
Ronaldo also criticised the younger generation of players, saying they lack the same ‘hunger’ players did when he was coming through.
“I don’t think they don’t respect the more experienced players or the older players, but they live in a different era. I can say that for my kid that’s 12 years old, the mentality is not the same,” he said.
“Their hunger [is different]. I think they have things more easily, everything’s easy, they don’t suffer – and they don’t care.”
He added: “I don’t mean only a few in Manchester United, but all the teams in all leagues in the world, the youngers are not the same of my generation. But you cannot blame them, because it’s part of the life and the new generation, the new technologies that distract them.
“They listen but this is why we have two ears, as you listen from one side and they go away from another side.”