Christian Eriksen reveals how he upset Cristiano Ronaldo at Man Utd

Christian Eriksen has revealed how he annoyed Cristiano Ronaldo by trying to take free kicks off him at Manchester United.

Ronaldo's incredible goal record has helped the former Real Madrid and Juventus striker pull rank when it comes to dead ball scenarios. He rarely misses from the penalty spot, but his recent free kick record is nothing compared to what it was during the mid to late 2000s.

The 38-year-old's knuckle ball technique helped him net some memorable free kicks from distance but he only managed one in three years at Juve and just one more at Man Utd.

United's current roster includes a number of dead ball specialists, including Eriksen who shot to fame for his wizardry at Ajax before delivering some pinpoint efforts at Tottenham.

The Dane has now revealed how United approach free kicks with Ronaldo out of the picture and reflected on the five-time Ballon d'Or winner's reaction to having the ball taken off him.

"Even now at the club we have multiple takers who, if he's had a good day, he's going to have it," he told Owen Hargreaves during a free kick masterclass for Premier League productions.

"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 [about] 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'."

Ronaldo took his free kick skills with him to Real Madrid and scored regularly from 2009 to 2017. His last Premier League goal from a free kick was against Norwich in April 2022 but he did also net one for Saudi Arabian side Al-Nassr.

Christian Eriksen's record playing with Cristiano Ronaldo

Eriksen and Ronaldo played in 15 matches together earlier in the 2022/23 season, when much of the attention at United centred around the Portugal international's unhappiness at his lack of game time.

They were never able to link up for a goal combination but did win 11 of those 15 fixtures, with losses coming to Brighton, Brentford, Real Sociedad and Aston Villa.

The duo started together in that Brentford defeat, though Eriksen had a difficult afternoon alongside Fred and was responsible for one of the Bees' goals in the 4-0 dismantling of Erik ten Hag's side.

The writing was on the wall for Ronaldo pretty early into Ten Hag's reign but he still elected to go out with a bang, telling Piers Morgan he didn't respect the Dutch boss and claimed he felt "betrayed" by certain figures at Old Trafford.

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