Authors
Vasudha noticed the growing problem of mis/disinformation online after studying New Media at ACJ in Chennai and became interested in separating facts from fiction. She is interested in learning how global issues affect individuals on a micro level. Before joining Newschecker’s English team, she was working with Latestly.
Portugues star footballer Cristiano Ronaldo has lately been in news not for his performance, but growing friction between him and the members of Manchester United– his current soccer club. In a recent interview with British journalist Piers Morgan, CR7 said that Manchester Utd has “betrayed him,” while heavily criticising the people associated with the club. Preview clips from this yet-to-be televised interview have grabbed the eyeballs of soccer fans as well as news outlets alike. In this backdrop, several media users claimed that Ronaldo admitted to leaving Real Madrid being the “biggest regret” of his career during the “explosive interview” with Morgan. Newschecker found the claim to be untrue.
Several Twitter users shared a still from Morgan’s interview with the soccer’s GOAT and wrote, “Ronaldo: “Leaving R. Madrid? Biggest regret of my career. I had respect there, I had love there. If I went back in time, I would play there for free. I should never have left the biggest club in the world. They treated me like a king.”
Archived versions of such tweets can be seen here, here, here and here.
It has also gone viral on Facebook.
Links to such Facebook posts can be found here, here, here and here.
Fact Check/Verification
We spotted the text “Piers Morgan Uncensored” written on the top right corner of the photograph being shared along with the alleged viral statement by Ronaldo. Additionally, the chyron reads “Talk TV, Cristiano Ronaldo Exclusive, Get in touch with #pmu” and shares the official twitter handle of Morgan.
Taking a clue, we conducted a keyword search for “Piers Morgan”, “Ronaldo,” & “Exclusive Interview” on Google which yielded multiple reports from the past 24 hours, confirming that CR7 was indeed interviewed by the British journalist recently.
In a tweet dated November 14, 2022, Piers Morgan shared some glimpses of his “explosive interview” with Ronaldo. On comparing the keyframes of video shared on Piers Morgan Uncensored’s official Twitter handle and the viral picture, we could conclude that the both are from the same event.
Notably, the full “uncensored” interview will be telecasted on November 16 and November 17 on TalkTV. However, some snippets from Ronaldo’s conversation with Morgan have been released online.
We skimmed through the preview clips of the interview shared on Twitter accounts linked to Morgan (@PiersUncensored and @piersmorgan), but did not spot the football star making the viral statement.Though Ronaldo could be heard coming down on the people associated with Manchester United club. Such clips can be seen here, here, here and here.
Additionally, no news outlet attributed the viral statement to Ronaldo so far. Most of the reports have focussed on Ronaldo’s allegations against Man United and how he feels “betrayed” by them.
Furthermore, a Google search for “Ronaldo,” “Real Madrid regret”, & “Piers Morgan” led us to a report by Daily Star, dated November 14, 2022, clarifying that the viral quote attributed to the Portuguese forward was in fact fake.
“Piers Morgan has raged online after fake quotes from Cristiano Ronaldo emerged – calling for Twitter CEO Elon Musk to take action,” it stated.
Notably, Morgan himself called out the fake quote on Twitter. The journalist shared the viral tweet by @theMadridlZone – which claimed that Ronaldo said that leaving Real Madrid was the “biggest regret of my career” – and wrote “46k ‘likes’ for a fake quote. Ronaldo doesn’t say this. I hope @elonmusk sorts out this kind of c**p too.”
We could thus conclude that Ronaldo did not make the viral statement during his recent interview with Morgan.
Conclusion
Viral post claiming that Ronaldo termed leaving Real Madrid as the “biggest regret” of his career, during a recent interview with Piers Morgan is false. Morgan himself quashed the fabricated quote attributed to CR7.
Result: False
Sources
Report By Daily Star, Dated November 14, 2022
Tweet By Piers Morgan, Dated November 14, 2022
Self Analysis
If you would like us to fact-check a claim, give feedback, or lodge a complaint, WhatsApp us at 9999499044 or email us at checkthis@newschecker.in. You can also visit the Contact Us page and fill out the form
Authors
Vasudha noticed the growing problem of mis/disinformation online after studying New Media at ACJ in Chennai and became interested in separating facts from fiction. She is interested in learning how global issues affect individuals on a micro level. Before joining Newschecker’s English team, she was working with Latestly.
