Cristiano Ronaldo has accused Manchester United of doubting his daughter was ill in the hospital when he told them it was the reason he arrived back late for pre-season training in the summer.
In his explosive tell-all interview with Piers Morgan, he claimed the club has ‘betrayed’ him while insisting he has ‘no respect’ for head coach Erik ten Hag.
Sportsmail has revealed that Old Trafford lawyers are exploring potential ways the interview may constitute a breach of contract, with United hoping to terminate his deal and move on from the saga.
In new excerpts from the interview, Ronaldo alleged that Red Devils officials ‘didn’t believe something was going wrong’ when he arrived back late for pre-season and put it down to his baby daughter’s illness.
The Portugal captain and partner Georgina Rodriguez, 28, tragically revealed that their newborn son had died during birth on April 18, but his twin daughter survived.
Ronaldo said: ‘I spoke with the directors and president of Manchester United and they kind of didn’t believe that something was going wrong which made me feel bad.
They believed it but it’s something that really hurt me because they doubted my words.
We had one week in hospital because Bella had big problems and I didn’t go to the pre-season because of that.
‘Because I wasn’t going to leave my family if something happened to do a pre-season because I didn’t think it was fair to leave my family.
‘This is why I didn’t go.’
Announcing their heartbreaking loss in April, Cristiano wrote: ‘It is with our deepest sadness we have to announce that our baby boy has passed away. It is the greatest pain that any parents can feel.
‘Only the birth of our baby girl gives us the strength to live this moment with some hope and happiness. We would like to thank the doctors and nurses for all their expert care and support.
‘We are all devastated at this loss and we kindly ask for privacy at this very difficult time. Our baby boy, you are our angel. We will always love you.’