Cristiano Ronaldo realised he'd made a mistake returning to Manchester United when some of his team-mates couldn't reach the standards he demanded of them.
And his position became untenable when Ronaldo got so frustrated that he fell-out with other United stars in the dressing room.
Ronaldo's second spell at United turned into a disaster when he was axed by boss Erik ten Hag. The Portuguese icon had his contract terminated last November following an explosive interview in which he criticised Ten Hag and the club.
Mike Phelan, who was part of the coaching set-up when Ronaldo went back to Old Trafford in August 2021, has revealed how some players just didn't respond to what the former Real Madrid superstar asked of them in training.
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Phelan said: "The second time round, he came in a lot older and a lot more opinionated and strong-willed. He still had massively high standards and was terrific to work with. But I'd probably say (he had) a tougher mindset.
"He had been at Manchester United, he had been Portugal's ever-present, he had been at Madrid. I liked it because he didn't want his standards to drop, he wanted other people's standards to come up. And sometimes you lose a few people along the way when that happens.
"I remember certain times when he pushed and pushed hard, and he didn't get much reaction or much response. And there was frustration. When you deal with top, top people, it's about them and where they can finish and where they can get to.
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"They want to look back and go 'wow, that was successful'. And he probably realised, and I don't know as I never had that conversation with him, that he couldn't do it at Manchester United," Phelan added. "So his challenges were elsewhere."
Ronaldo secured a move to the Saudi Pro League. And Phelan admits the 38-year-old was so obsessed with being the best he could be, that it even challenged the likes of Sir Alex Ferguson at times.
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He added: "He's still playing international football. Yes, he's in Saudi Arabia, but he's still playing and scoring goals. He is doing all the things we knew he could do at Manchester United.
"But a really good personality, hard-working and challenging. He challenged me as a coach, Carlos Queiroz as a coach and Sir Alex as a manager. But that's good, because it takes you to another level."
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