Ronaldo criticism rings true as Glazers' Man Utd problems repeat themselves

29 February 2024 , 19:56

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Cristiano Ronaldo ranted over a year ago about the facilities at Manchester United (Image: YouTube/Piers Morgan Uncensored)

Joel Glazer has been rated the fourth-worst club owner in the NFL by Tampa Bay Buccaneers players for the team's unwillingness to invest in its facilities. The issues sound similar to those shared by Cristiano Ronaldo shortly before leaving Man United for a second time in 2022.

Joel, 56, is co-chairman of the Buccaneers, a role he shares with his brothers Bryan and Edward. Their sister Darcie is the team president, while Avram and Kevin are also part of the ownership group. Avram joins Joel as co-chairmen of Manchester United, with the other family members non-executive directors, making the latter the only sibling to chair both teams.

But the league's union (the NFLPA) refers to Joel as the team owner. Tampa Bay players are not particularly pleased with him and his perceived lack of investment in facilities around the franchise.

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Only the owners of the Arizona Cardinals, Pittsburgh Steelers and the back-to-back Super Bowl champion Kansas City Chiefs received a lower rating in the club report cards. Buccaneers players rated their owner 6.1 out of 10 and shared their complaints about their facilities.

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They described the locker room as "smelly" and "unclean" while highlighting a persistent bug issue in the showers. Overall, it is said to be old, outdated and needs renovating.

Players said the sauna is no better, with their descriptions calling it "dirty," with mould also mentioned, and "small," while lamenting it for constantly breaking down. Ronaldo made similar complaints about the state of Manchester United before he left the club for a second time.

Joel Glazer is not exactly popular with the Bucs players (Getty Images)

"When I arrived (after 13 years away), I thought everything will be different, you know, the technology, the infrastructures and everything," Ronaldo told Piers Morgan in an interview.

"But I was surprised, in a bad way, let's say in that way, because I saw everything was the same. Ronaldo continued: “At United, the progress was zero, in my opinion.

"To compare with (my former clubs) Real Madrid and even Juventus, that they follow the rest of the world, so the technology, especially in terms of training, nutrition and conditions of, eat properly and to recover better than before - surprised me. Manchester right now, to compare with that club, I think it's behind in my opinion, which is something that surprised me."

But it does seem like there are differences between these experiences on opposite sides of the pond. Buccaneers players rated their food a C- and 24th overall across the league, 22nd for freshness but 26th for taste. They were also relatively pleased about their dieticians and nutritionists, rating that a B and 17th in the league.

Notably, 88% of the team feels they have an individualized plan, which ranks 10th across the league. Individualized strength plans seem similarly prevalent for 93% of respondents, good enough for 16th overall.

Their weight room also received a B, ranking 17th overall. The players feel the equipment is of good quality (20th out of 32), and that they have adequate space (15 out of 32).

Matthew Abbott