It seems Manchester United are in a hurry to get over their Cristiano Ronaldo fiasco after the legendary forward agreed to a contract termination last month. After months with tussle with manager Erik ten Hag, Ronaldo finally let out his frustration and anger by dropping a bombshell on United with his interview with Piers Morgan. The 37-year-old launched a furious tirade where he levelled a number of accusations against the club as well as manager Ten Hag.
There was no coming back for Cristiano Ronaldo at United who had left for international duty with Portugal for the FIFA Word Cup. And before the Selecaos played their opening game against Ghana at the tournament, United had ended all their ties with Ronaldo by agreeing a mutual contract termination. However, ahead of their first game in the post-Ronaldo era, a Carabao Cup clash against Burnley, Manchester United had only planned a mini-tribute for the now free agent.
United issue diplomatic gratitude for Cristiano Ronaldo
Although its over between United and Cristiano Ronaldo, the Red Devils still had the chance to pay tribute to him on the resumption of club football post the World Cup. United resumed their journey under Ten Hag in the Carabao Cup where they faced Burnley in the Round of 16 at Old Trafford. The Red Devils cruised to a 2-0 win and into the quarterfinals, thanks to goals from Christian Eriksen and Marcus Rashford.
But the pre-match programme grabbed all the headlines wherein United had only ’81’ words to express their gratitude towards Ronaldo’s service to the club. The note from the programme only acknowledged the player’s exit and his achievements at the club across the two different spells. It sounded more diplomatic than emotional, given the five-time Ballon d’Or winner’s legendary spells at the club. It read:
“Cristiano Ronaldo left the club by mutual agreement last month. The Portuguese superstar scored 145 goals across two spells and 436 appearances, and helped us win three Premier League titles, one FA Cup, two League Cups, the Champions League and the FIFA Club World Cup. Ronaldo was also crowned Ballon d’Or winner in 2008. In a statement on November 22, the club put on record its gratitude for Cristiano’s immense contribution and wished him and his family well for the future.”
Not many at the Old Trafford too seemed happy over Cristiano Ronaldo subjected to such a disgraceful tribute. However, his exit from the club too was as unpleasant as the note. Ronaldo accused the Red Devils of “betraying” him and doubting his professionalism, and bashed Ten Hag for “not respecting” him. He also slammed the club for stagnating its development since Sir Alex Ferguson left and that the owners- the Glazers family didn’t care about it.
Ronaldo’s dismal departure from United evidently had an impact on his World Cup campaign with Portugal, where he managed only one goal across five games. His fallout with national coach Fernando Santos too attracted unwanted attention, as a result of the which the Portugal boss dropped him for his side’s last-16 and quarterfinal ties. And misery just piled upon Ronaldo and Portugal when they got knocked out by Morocco in the quarterfinals.
Nonetheless, Cristiano Ronaldo is now searching for a new club along with his agent Jorge Mendes, with the only significant offer till now being that of Saudi Arabia outfit Al Nassr. The middle-eastern club has offered Ronaldo a staggering €500 million package for two-and-a-half-years, to which the former Real Madrid player is yet to respond to. According to multiple reports, Ronaldo wants to continue in Europe for another two years and is desperately looking for a Champions League playing club now.