ionigeria.com Nigerian Newspaper
Cristiano Ronaldo has joined a Manchester United WhatsApp group in an attempt to unify the Old Trafford dressing room following concern over the player’s relationships with each other.
The rumours surrounding the relationships within the squad started when Manchester United lost against Wolves earlier this month.
Luke Shaw gave an honest assessment after the game, insisting that the squad was not ‘together’ following their first defeat under interim boss Ralf Rangnick.
The concerns also came after Ronaldo’s explosive interview where he condemned many of his younger team-mates’ mentality and urged them to up their game in order to finish in the top three.
However, the 36-year-old Portuguese superstar has now joined a Manchester United group chat, consisting of the club’s younger players, in an attempt to unify the dressing room.
According to The Sun, Ronaldo has been joking around with Marcus Rashford, Anthony Elanga, James Garner and Jesse Lingard over text.
A club insider revealed told The Sun: ‘Some of the younger players like to communicate via WhatsApp.
‘They are never off their phones and regularly swap exchanges, send jokes and funny clips and chat about stuff like computer games, fashion trends and music.
‘Ronaldo is almost twice the age of some of the members of the group and has four children and a pregnant fiance.
‘His life is very different to the younger ones who are just starting in the game.
‘Some are a bit star-struck by him but are really happy he’s joined the group and are delighted he is messaging everyone and joining in.
‘It makes him much more approachable, especially at a time when some of the younger members of the squad have been struggling with form.’
Reports previously suggested that Portuguese trio Ronaldo, Fernandes and Dalot had formed a clique with Fred and Telles.
However, when asked about the reports of cliques forming behind the scenes, Fred denied the claims by saying he enjoys a good relationship with all of his team-mates.
Speaking to ESPN Brazil, Fred said: ‘The news here, they like fake news. There’s too much here. It’s a lie. It’s obvious that we speak Portuguese, we communicate, we have a nice friendship.
‘I’m a good friend of Alex Telles, both on and off the field. I’ve known him for a long time. So obviously I’m going to be a little friend of his.
‘But that doesn’t mean I won’t talk to Lingard, Rashford, Greenwood, Maguire, the other English people here. On the contrary.
‘We have a super cool friendship here, a super cool dressing room, they’re all team-mates.
‘We’re always dancing in the locker room, whenever we have the team dinner. Now we’re not doing that because of Covid-19.’
