The interview that Cristiano Ronaldo gave to Piers Morgan, and is now available for viewing on yes's VOD, led as expected to the end of his career at Manchester United, but at the same time also marked the end of an era.
Because for an hour and a half, the 37-year-old footballer looks and sounds like a disgruntled old man who sees football moving forward without him, while he still relishes the history and the records, and is furious that he is not being given the respect he deserves.
He is always right and everyone else is wrong.
"Why are you interviewing me", Morgan asked him and Ronaldo replied: "Because I like you".
But the real answer is that Morgan - a provocateur who was ejected from the British mainstream following controversial statements - is also an international lark.
First he defined Ronaldo as the greatest footballer in the history of the game, then he made sure to hug him tightly.
It was a friend's interview that provided the star with all the ammunition it needed.
Know exactly what the next question will be, photo: courtesy of yes doku
Convinced he is God
Sometimes it seemed as if Ronaldo knew exactly what the next question would be, and sometimes he didn't even wait for Morgan to finish the question before answering it.
Everything was calculated, which allowed the player to unlock the whole world and especially his immediate environment.
He criticized the conduct of United as a club (which pays him a salary of over half a million pounds a week), scolded his coaches, got into the owner, the other players and also past stars who came out against him ("Wayne Rooney is jealous of me because I'm still playing and he retired, and because I look good from him").
When asked by Morgan how Ronaldo has more followers on Instagram than the entire Kardashian family combined, the footballer explained that "It means I'm liked. I'm number 1 not only because I play good football, but because I'm also charismatic. It helps that I'm handsome. I'm a mouth-watering fruit, Like a strawberry."
Ronaldo is convinced that he is God, and as we know God does not give advice.
When Morgan tried to extort life advice from him, he replied: "I don't like to give advice, I prefer to be a personal example."
According to him, this is the reason why he did not acclimatize in a place where until recently he was defined as a living legend.
"The young players today don't respect the veterans," he said, "they don't care (to look at me and take an example from me), so they won't have a long career like mine."
Convinced that he is God, photo: courtesy of yes doku
It is impossible to take away from him the achievements and the professionalism he has shown over the years, but more than anything Ronaldo is an example of a person who thinks about himself first and calculates steps according to what will serve him best.
The interview in question is designed to primarily serve Ronaldo and his obsessive preoccupation with himself, while diminishing everyone around him.
Morgan and Ronaldo in the previous interview.
(archive), photo: courtesy of yes doku
Maybe that's why he decided to interview at the current timing.
Just before he left England for the World Cup in Qatar, it was important for him to burn bridges, destroy his legacy in Manchester and inflate the balloon a little more.
As the villain Harvey Dent said to Bruce Wayne (Batman) in the movie The Dark Knight: "You either die a hero, or you live long enough to see yourself become a villain."
Cristiano Ronaldo is convinced that he is God.
He is the world champion in autopilot, that's about what they said about him his entire career.
His arrogance was received with understanding and respect when he was the best footballer in the world, but today he is barely a shadow of himself, and his arrogance puts his old age to shame.
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