30 March 2023 , 11:06
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Cristiano Ronaldo was rebuffed after attempting to wrest control of the Manchester United captaincy from Harry Maguire as the situation at Old Trafford deteriorated last season.
The two senior figures became embroiled in a dressing-room power struggle after Ole Gunnar Solskjaer was sacked and Ralf Rangnick appointed as the Norwegian's interim replacement. A string of poor performances from Maguire - who was sent off in Solskjaer's final game in charge, a 4-1 defeat at Watford - led to his place in the starting XI being questioned, let alone his suitability for the armband.
According to ESPN, Ronaldo felt he would be a better fit as skipper, boasting a wealth of experience as a trophy-winning captain for Portugal. However, when the five-time Ballon d'Or winner requested Rangnick strip Maguire of the armband and pass it to him, the Austrian refused.
It appears likely this spat was the beginning of the end for Ronaldo's second stint with United. Even though he continued to perform throughout the latter half of last season to finish on 24 goals in all competitions, tensions were growing behind the scenes.
After falling down the pecking order under Erik ten Hag upon the Dutchman's arrival last summer, Ronaldo took matters into his own hands and gave an explosive interview which led to the termination of his contract. During the interview, the former Real Madrid and Juventus forward made no secret of how much he resented Rangnick throughout his interim stint in the hot seat.
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Ronaldo blasted the decision to appoint a "sporting director" - a reference to Rangnick's more notable success in behind-the-scenes roles - rather than a "top manager" as Solskjaer's replacement. The former Sporting Lisbon prodigy insisted he "respected" Rangnick but added "I never saw him as the boss because I saw some points that I never agreed".
Did Ralf Rangnick make the right decision by snubbing Cristiano Ronaldo's captaincy request? Have your say in the comments...
Ralf Rangnick refused Cristiano Ronaldo's request to take the Manchester United captaincy from Harry Maguire (Getty Images)One of those points of disagreement centred on the United captaincy, which Maguire retains despite his lack of minutes this season, while Ronaldo has gone on to assume the armband at Saudi Pro League club Al-Nassr. During his tirade against Rangnick, Ronaldo also declared: "If you're not even a coach, how are you going to be the boss of Manchester United? I'd never even heard of him."
Rangnick was appointed Austria boss after leaving United and responded to his former player in a placid manner. He said: "I'm the team boss of Austria's national team, it's not my job to judge that. [It is] the job of Manchester United and the sports journalists."
Ronaldo scored two goals apiece in Portugal's recent Euro 2024 qualifiers against minnows Liechtenstein and Luxembourg, while Rangnick led Austria to victories over Estonia and Azerbaijan.