If you are a football fan, you have definitely heard about this. Legendary Cristiano Ronaldo has left Manchester United after an interview he had with Piers Morgan, amid misunderstandings with the club’s manager, Erik Ten Hag. This stirred up the football world, and Manchester United fans, Players had a lot to say on this matter on various social media platforms.
Marcus Rashford finally broke the silence in an interview and had nothing but good things to say about the 37-year-old Portuguese Player. Rashford explained that Ronaldo is his idol, and he thanked him for what he had done for Manchester United. He said that playing with Ronaldo was an unbelievable experience and that is something that Rashford will forever keep. He finished by wishing Ronaldo all the best.
This was a return to his old club. Ronaldo returned to Manchester United in August of 2021. Before his return, he was at Juventus, where he won the two titles of Serie A, Coppa Italia, and Supercopa Italia. The club announced his transfer on the 27th of August and it was confirmed on the 31st. The transfer cost Manchester United €12.85 million and he was given the number 7 jersey, with a two-year contract and an optional year. The then number 7 Edinson Cavani had to be shifted to number 21 to accommodate the star.
After his return, Ronaldo had a tumultuous season. He didn’t go along with his interim manager Raif Rangnick and his teammates. During the season, the team’s performance and Ronaldo’s performance flopped, and for the first time since his time at Real Madrid in 2020, he had his worst goalscoring run. He stayed for two months but rectified this by scoring against Brighton and Hove Albion in a game they played at home in February. Manchester United got a 2nil victory in that game.
He missed the Manchester Derby because of a hamstring injury but made a victorious comeback against Tottenham Hotspur FC in March, where he scored a hat-trick. The following month saw him scoring his 50th hat-trick against Norwich City and Manchester United emerged victorious. He scored his 100th Premier League goal against Arsenal in the same month of April. He was eventually titled Premier League Player of the month. He finished the season as a third-highest goal scorer with 18 goals in the Premier League and 24 goals in all of the season’s competitions.
Ronaldo missed the club’s preseason games in Australia and Thailand because of private family issues and even though there were rumors of him wanting to leave the club, the manager Erik Ten Hag shit down the rumors, saying he was not on sale and was part of the club plans still.
Despite the rumors, his agent, Jorge Mendez began negotiating transfers to other teams for free or on loan. The teams were Paris Saint Germain, Bayern Munich, and Chelsea but were rejected due to his high wages demands, age, and also the cost of a transfer.
After he failed to secure a spot in other clubs, he lost his position on the start-up lineup, which featured Marcus Rashford and Anthony Martial than him. Erik Ten Hag refused to bring him out as a substitute for a 6-3 loss against Manchester City, saying he did not want to disrespect Ronaldo’s big career. On October 7 he scored his 700th club goal in a 2-1 win against Everton. He, however, refused to be a substitute in a game against Tottenham on the home game and left the ground even before the match ended.
Ten Hag retaliated by removing Ronaldo from the line up which was to play Chelsea and also made him train separately from his teammates.
Why Ronaldo left Manchester United
In an interview with Piers Morgan on the 14th of November, Cristiano Ronaldo accused the club of doubting him concerning the sickness of his daughter, leading to him missing the preseason games. He also admitted to feeling betrayed by Ten Hag and the senior executives of the club as they wanted him to leave the club.
He said that he had no respect for the club’s manager, Ten Hag because he did not show him respect and that led to disappointment because of the club’s communication. He said he regretted leaving the stadium early on the Tottenham game, saying that Ten Hag left him on the bench deliberately and then wanted to bring him for the final moments.
Ronaldo further said that there was no evolution to the club whatsoever since Alex Ferguson left the club in 2013 from the manager post. He described Manchester United as a marketing club and questioned the decision to the appointment of Rangnick, saying he wasn’t a real coach but rather a sporting director.
After the interview aired on 16 and 17 November, Manchester United started looking for legal action over Ronaldo, and they wanted to cancel his contract. However, the contract was terminated by mutual agreement between Ronaldo and the club on 22nd November with immediate effect.
Cristiano Ronaldo himself released a confirmation statement, saying that he loves the club and its fans but it is finally time for him to move on and find other challenges, hence the mutually agreed termination. He concluded by saying he wished the club all the success for the remaining period of the season and the future.
Cristiano Ronaldo’s football achievements
Cristiano Ronaldo dos Santos Aveiro is a captain and plays as a forward for the Portuguese national team. He has won four European golden shoes, more than any European player five Ballon d’Or awards, seven league titles, five UEFA Champions League titles, and the UEFA European championship. He currently has 32 trophies.
He also has:
- Most goals (140)
- Most assists (42)
- Appearances (183) in the champion’s league
- International goals (118)
- International appearances by a European (192)
- European Championship goals (14)
He is the only player in the world to score in five World Cup tournaments, and one of the few players to have over 1100 professional career appearances. He has scored over 800 goals, both for his country’s national team and his clubs.
