Cristiano Ronaldo’s second spell at Manchester United came to an abrupt end, in the middle of the World Cup and less than 48 hours before the footballer’s debut in the tournament being held in Qatar. While he was guarding weapons to face Ghana, thousands of kilometers away, the breach of the contract that bound him to the English club until June was substantiated, from which he left after a volcanic interview in which he shot against owners, coach, several legends of the entity and even most of his peers. “Cristiano Ronaldo is leaving Manchester United by mutual consent, effective immediately. The club thanks him for his immense contribution throughout his two stays at Old Trafford,” United tweeted.
Cristiano, 37, will play the World Cup as a free agent after a quick succession of events. On the 6th he played against Aston Villa and even wore the captain’s armband in a gesture that was interpreted as a way of easing his relationship with coach Erik Ten Hag, who had only granted him four starts in the Premier League. . But four days later, in the duel that faced both teams again in the League Cup, his team slipped that he was not going to play. Ten Hag argued that the footballer was “sick” and that he would not be available in the clash against Fulham that was going to close the leg of the English championship before the World Cup break.
Cristiano Ronaldo is to leave Manchester United by mutual agreement, with immediate effect.
The club thanks him for his immense contribution across two spells at Old Trafford.#MUFC
— Manchester United (@ManUtd) November 22, 2022
But hours after that game and before leaving for Qatar, the English channel Talk TV broadcast the first part of an interview given by Cristiano Ronaldo to Piers Morgan. He chose a journalist with a controversial past to make explosive remarks before which Manchester United warned that they would take “appropriate measures”. The club’s idea was to start a procedure to justify a dismissal from the Portuguese star for his words, which would go against a behavior clause in his contract. “Since Alex Ferguson left, the club has lost hope,” said the footballer, who accused the owners, the Glazer family, of having betrayed him. “They are not interested in football. The fans must know the truth, ”he denounced before an environment of supporters who have been critical of the club’s owners for years.
“United is stopped in time,” concluded CR before shooting Ten Hag. “I don’t respect him because he doesn’t respect me. I am sure that he did it on purpose to give me three minutes against Tottenham ”. Cristiano spoke of morality and of people who “don’t like to face up” at Manchester United and said that he was only thinking about the World Cup. He had no plans for him to return to United and the club also assumed that they would part ways. The agreement to terminate the contract was a matter of time. The footballer, who will turn 38 next February, will now look for a new destination. In the interview with Morgan he assured that he had rejected an offer of more than 350 million euros from a Saudi Arabian team to remain at United.
“The club thanks him for his immense contribution during two spells at Old Trafford, scoring 145 goals in 346 appearances, and wishes him and his family the best for the future,” Manchester United said in a statement in which they assured that they would continue focused “on the progress the team has made under the leadership of Erik ten Hag”. The team is fifth in the Premier League, 11 points behind leader Arsenal, in a championship in which Cristiano Ronaldo scored just one goal after 14 games. In the Europa League, the Portuguese scored two goals against the Moldovan Sheriff and the team qualified in second position in a group led by Real Sociedad and will face a double duel against Barcelona in February.
Cristiano begins this Thursday his fifth attempt with Portugal in a World Cup. The striker captains the call for the Portuguese team ahead of his last great showcase to find a team after leaving United today. Portugal will face Ghana first, and will also face Uruguay and North Korea in the group stage.
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