Roy Keane had a dig at Newcastle United when discussing ex-Man Utd forward Cristiano Ronaldo after Portugal’s win over Ghana.
Ronaldo is a free agent heading into the January transfer as it was confirmed earlier this week that his contract has been ripped up.
His deal was due to be up next summer but his controversial interview with Piers Morgan gave Man Utd no choice but to part ways with the forward immediately.
During the chummy chat with the Arsenal supporter, Ronaldo hit out at Erik ten Hag, the Glazers and several of his former United team-mates.
Ronaldo is now looking to carry Portugal far into the 2022 World Cup in Qatar. They faced Ghana in their first group game on Thursday.
All the focus was on the 37-year-old in the build-up to this game and he made an impact on the pitch.
The attacker had a goal ruled out before the interval for a foul but he fired Portugal ahead from the penalty spot in the second half.
His goal kickstarted a hectic end to the game as Portugal ended up winning 3-2.
Portugal went 3-1 ahead thanks to goals from Joao Felix and Rafael Leao but Osman Bukari reduced the deficit before stoppage time.
Ghana missed a huge chance to equalise just before the final whistle. Inaki Williams nicked the ball away from Diogo Costa, but the striker slipped and failed to find the net.
Speaking post-match, Keane suggested that Costa “was very lucky” to get away with the error.
ITV then showed Ronaldo’s shocked expression when Ghana almost equalised, to which Keane took a dig at Newcastle United.
“He [Costa] was very lucky. We saw the best and worst of Portugal tonight,” Keane said on ITV.
“Look at Ronaldo’s face, my goodness. Honestly, he’s just had a call [telling him] Newcastle are in for him.”
Ronaldo’s reaction after that Ghana chance 😨 pic.twitter.com/N47UjbBPDv
— ESPN FC (@ESPNFC) November 24, 2022
Earlier this week it was reported that Newcastle United are not interested in bringing in Ronaldo.
Magpies head coach Eddie Howe has appeared to rule out a move for Ronaldo himself by stating that he wants to focus on signing younger players.
“We’re trying to provide long-term growth,” Howe claimed.
“At the moment, we have quite an ageing squad. We need to get the average age down, so it might not be a signing we’d necessarily look to make.”
It was reported on Friday that Brazilian side Flamengo are ‘preparing to make the attacker an offer’ as they look to beat Saudi Arabia’s Al-Hilal to the signing of Ronaldo.
Over at Man Utd, it has been suggested that they are ready to target Tottenham and England star Harry Kane to replace Ronaldo.
READ MORE: Ronaldo claims headlines but Portugal success depends on pretty much everyone else