Cristiano Ronaldo’s second stint with Manchester United has come to a disappointing end with the Premier League club terminating his contract. United took the decision after the Portugal captain had a controversial interview with broadcaster Piers Morgan, where he criticised the club’s officials and manager Erik ten Hag.
Since then, Ronaldo has been focussed on Portugal’s ongoing FIFA World Cup 2022 campaign in Qatar, where he scored a goal in the group stage. But his lack of appearances in the ongoing Premier League season seemed to have seeped into his form as he put in uninspiring displays, that even Fernando Santos benched him for their crucial Round of 16 fixture vs Switzerland.
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Ronaldo’s replacement Goncalo Ramos was deployed as a solitary striker in Santos’ starting XI and the Benfica sharpshooter went on to bag a hat-trick in his World Cup debut. Meanwhile, Pepe and Raphael Guerreiro also scored as Portugal sealed a 6-1 victory and will face Morocco in the quarter-finals.
Ronaldo arrived at Old Trafford for his second stint during the summer transfer window in 2021, after spending 12 years in Madrid and Turin. On his return, he finished the season with 24 goals in all competitions, with 18 of those in the Premier League, making him the third-highest goalscorer in the Golden Boot race. He was also named in the Premier League Team of the year, and also grabbed the club’s Sir Matt Busby Player of the Year award. Despite his inspirational performances, United finished in sixth position, failing to qualify for the UEFA Champions League.
After Ten Hag arrived, he got relegated to the bench with the former Ajax coach preferring Marcus Rashford. Ronaldo managed to score only one goal in 10 2022-23 Premier League appearances and two goals in the Europa League. Meanwhile, he bagged two assists in the Europa League. Speaking to MUTV, Ten Hag stated that Ronaldo is the club’s ‘past’ and they were looking to the future. “He’s gone and it’s the past. We are now looking forward and we’re looking to the future”, he said.
It is being widely reported that Ronaldo could join Saudi Arabia club Al-Nassr on a two and a half year deal worth 200 million euros per season. But according to ESPN, the Portugal international hasn’t agreed to the deal yet.