Nani Says Cristiano Ronaldo's Manchester United Teammates Are Not Willing To "Sweat"

Former Manchester United winger Nani has accused the club's current players of being unwilling to "sweat".

Last season was United's worst ever in Premier League history and they now sit bottom of the table after starting the new 2022/23 campaign with losses to Brighton and Brentford.

Nani played in some great United teams between 2007 and 2014, winning four Premier League titles at Old Trafford along the way.

But the 35-year-old, who now plays for Melbourne Victory in Australia, is far from impressed with United's class of 2022.

Speaking to another former United star on Rio Ferdinand's Vibe With Five podcast, Nani said: "I don't like to talk too much, I don't talk about players but you can see there is no hunger, there is no attitude or desire to win in the club.

"You have a lot of talented players but they don't want to get tired. If I had to get sweaty to win, I would. They prefer to not sweat.

"You have talented players in the team with a lot of skills. They can shoot with their right foot and left, but in the last game no one was shooting at goal, everyone was passing."

Nani played alongside Cristiano Ronaldo at Old Trafford and they have also been teammates at international level with Portugal.

Ronaldo was among United's best performing players last season when he provided 24 goals.

But he has started the new season slowly after a summer of speculation.

Ronaldo is keen to leave United to play in the UEFA Champions League but a move away has not yet materialized.

The 37-year-old former Real Madrid star played the full 90 minutes in last weekend's 4-0 defeat at Brentford where he was seen looking very annoyed with his teammates.

Nani told Ferdinand that Ronaldo's frustrated reaction to his team's failings was understandable.

Cristiano Ronaldo (left) pictured giving his captain's armband to Portugal teammate Nani during the final of Euro 2016

IMAGO/Sven Simon

"Times change and the reactions and attitude can change as well," said Nani. "But, as we see, he's doing the same things as usual; he doesn't like to lose, he reacts when the team is not doing well.

"But the only difference is that it's different times. He's playing again at Man United but he's been all over the world doing well at different teams with different players.

"He's in a team where the managers are trying to build a strong team and it's not easy, it takes time.

"For Cristiano, he doesn't have time to lose on building teams or waiting for the next season. He wants to continue to be at the top, scoring goals, being the man.

"That's why the reaction is normal, we all have the wrong reactions sometimes."