Manchester United agree to exit Cristiano Ronaldo

Manchester United reached an agreement with Cristiano Ronaldo to mutually terminate his contract.

the athlete It was reported last week that United had initiated legal proceedings against Ronaldo for breach of contract following his interview with Piers Morgan.

The business has developed quickly and the 37-year-old’s exit has been completed.

A statement from United read: “Cristiano Ronaldo will leave Manchester United by mutual agreement, with immediate effect.

“The club thanks him for his tremendous contribution in two spells at Old Trafford, scoring 145 goals in 346 appearances, and wishes him and his family well for the future.”

Ronaldo gave a momentous interview ahead of the World Cup – in which the striker is set to play for Portugal – in which he accused employers of betraying and taking swipes at manager Erik ten Hag, as well as the club’s hierarchy.

Old Trafford issued a statement on Thursday which read: “Manchester United this morning initiated appropriate steps in response to Cristiano Ronaldo’s recent media interview.

“We will not be making further comments until this process has reached its conclusion.”

All First Division players sign employment contracts in the Premier League with their teams.

Under this agreement, they are obligated to “comply with and act in accordance with all legal instructions of any authorized official of the club” and are not allowed to “write or say anything likely to discredit the club…or cause harm to the club”.

Ronaldo said he “felt betrayed” by the club in an interview with Morgan published in The Sun newspaper.

The forward added that he feels forced out of United, “not only by the manager (Erik ten Hag), but also by two or three other people across the club”.

He said: I feel betrayed.

“I feel like some people don’t want me here. Not only this year, but last year as well.”

Ronaldo also touched on his relationship with Ten Hag, adding: “I don’t respect him because he doesn’t show respect to me.

“If you don’t respect me, I will never respect you.”

He also spoke about Ralf Rangnick’s time at the club, who was appointed as caretaker manager following the departure of Ole Gunnar Solskjaer last season.

The German achieved great success as a football manager, but he did not manage a team for more than two years before he took over United training in November last year, as Ronaldo commented: “If you are not a coach, how would you be the coach of Manchester United? I have never heard of him.”

Ronaldo told United he wanted to leave last summer, if they received a suitable offer, but no satisfactory offers arrived.

He was previously criticized by his manager in August when he left early during a friendly match against Rayo Vallecano.

Ronaldo was substituted at halftime during the warm-up match and then was photographed off the ground before the end.

Last month, he refused to come on as a substitute during the closing stages of United’s victory over Tottenham Hotspur.

He was then dropped from their squad to face Chelsea the following weekend and trained on his own before returning to the squad for the 3-0 Europa League win over Sherif.

The Portugal international also missed his side’s final Premier League game before the World Cup break, a 2-1 win over Fulham on Sunday, due to illness.

Ronaldo has struggled for form in front of goal this season. The Portugal international has scored one goal in 10 Premier League matches this season.

However, he has played a more prominent role in the Europa League campaign. Ronaldo started all six of United’s matches in the competition, scoring two goals and assisting two goals.

In the Premier League, Ronaldo has been largely portrayed as a fringe figure with only four appearances.

United entered the World Cup break in fifth place in the Premier League table.

(Photo: Getty Images)