Eric Cantona tells Cristiano Ronaldo his failure to 'accept that he is NOT 25 any more
Eric Cantona tells Cristiano Ronaldo his failure to 'accept that he is NOT 25 any more' - and not helping Man United's youngsters in the process - led to his bitter exit, as he likens end of career to 'dying'
Manchester United legend Eric Cantona believes Cristiano Ronaldo's refusal to accept that he is nearing the end of his career led to his bitter exit from Old Trafford.
Ronaldo returned to the 'Theatre of Dreams' in 2021 and netted 24 goals in all competitions in his first season back at the club.
However, he fell out of favour under Erik ten Hag at the start of the current campaign, and subsequently gave a tell-all interview to Piers Morgan where he criticised the manager and the club.
Ronaldo turns 38 next month, and Cantona thinks Ronaldo's downfall at United was caused by him not accepting that he is getting older, and that his role in the team had changed.
'I think you have two kinds of players at the end of their career. Me, I decided to retire young, that's another thing. And then the one who wants to play and play until the age of 40 years old,' Cantona told the Manchester Evening News.
'You have two kind of players: the one who wants to play every game because they still think they're 25 years old and the ones who realise they are not 25 years old and they are here to help the young players, they know they will not play every game, they know they will play some games