Manchester United and Cristiano Ronaldo have agreed that the Portuguese forward will leave the club with immediate effect. This decision was expected after Ronaldo’s bombshell interview with Piers Morgan was released, where he revealed he did not have any respect for manager Erik Ten Hag. He also stated things that placed the club in a negative light on social media. The decision has come at a good time for both parties as Ronaldo can now solely focus on the World Cup with Portugal. The official statement is as follows "The club thanks him for his immense contribution across two spells at Old Trafford."
The Portugal captain spoke to the media on Monday and told them in that he will "speak when he wants" and that his row with United will not "shake" the Portugal squad. Ronaldo, who scored 145 goals in 346 appearances for United, left Juventus to rejoin the Old Trafford club in August 2021 - 11 years after he left to join Real Madrid. There were still seven months remaining on his contract which entailed a £500,000 a week salary. Ronaldo also released a statement and said "Following conversations with Manchester United we have mutually agreed to end our contract early. I love Manchester United and I love the fans, that will never ever change. However, it feels like the right time for me to seek a new challenge.”
It will be intriguing to see where Ronaldo’s next journey takes as it is clear he is not the same player he was years ago. It is also clear the reason for his frustration was the fact he was not playing regularly for United. This means he will have to be starting week in and week out at whichever club he joins as they will want to avoid a situation similar to the one that occurred now.
