'He wasn't too happy!': Christian Eriksen on riling Cristiano Ronaldo at Man United

Cristiano Ronaldo and Christian Eriksen of Manchester United bump fists during the warm-up prior to the UEFA Europa League match between Manchester United and Real Sociedad at Old Trafford on September 8, 2022 in Manchester, England.
(Image credit: Jose Breton/Pics Action/NurPhoto via Getty Images)

Christian Eriksen has opened up about the time he got on Cristiano Ronaldo's wrong side at Manchester United.

The two were only briefly teammates this season, before Ronaldo's somewhat acrimonious exit from Old Trafford in November.

But it seems that was still enough time for the pair to have a little falling out – over set-pieces.

Speaking to former United and England midfielder Own Hargreaves in a free-kick masterclass for the club's official website, Eriksen explained what went down when he dared to try and take a free-kick ahead of Ronaldo...

The Dane told Hargreaves: "Even now at the club, we have multiple takers who if he's had a good day, he's going to have it. [Eriksen, Bruno Fernandes] and Rashy [Marcus Rashford]. They're probably the three and Ronaldo when he was here, obviously.

"I did take one [instead of Ronaldo], I think, but he wasn't too happy with that! But then with the three we have now, it's where we are on the pitch, how people are feeling, so it's like 'you had the last one, I'll have the next one'."

Eriksen is among the top scorers from direct free-kicks in the modern Premier League era, have put away eight – although he's yet to do so for United.

In fact, the 31-year-old has found the net only once in the league for Erik ten Hag's side – in a 2-1 win away to Fulham back in November.

Tom Hancock

Tom Hancock started freelancing for FourFourTwo in April 2019 and has also written for the Premier League and Opta Analyst, among others. He supports Wycombe Wanderers and has a soft spot for Wealdstone. A self-confessed statto, he has been known to watch football with a spreadsheet (or several) open...