After his refusal to let himself be substituted on, Manchester United are now apparently forcing the departure of Cristiano Ronaldo. According to a report, the Premier League club are ready to let the 37-year-old move in the winter without a fee. Just don't let anyone show any interest in it.
Cristiano Ronaldo is allowed to leave Manchester United, apparently even on a free transfer in winter, but nobody wants to sign the 37-year-old. This is what ESPN writes, citing unspecified sources. There is "no interest" in the Portuguese offensive player, although the English record champions do not even ask for a fee. The management of the traditional club is much more willing to let Ronaldo go. The attacker aggressively communicated his own change request in the summer through his environment - but even then there were hardly any offers. This in turn allegedly culminated in Ronaldo's agent opening his phone book and ultimately unsuccessfully phoning the big European clubs up and down to put his clients through.
The news reads like the next low point in the remarkable decline the five-time world footballer is currently enduring. After all, under United's new coach Erik ten Hag he has long since been just a backup player, but he doesn't seem to accept his regular place on the bench. During the week he refused to come on in the final stages of the 2-0 win against Tottenham Hotspur and went into the dressing room instead, only to be able to leave the stadium early. Ten Hag subsequently confirmed the incident and suspended Ronaldo for the game against Chelsea this weekend.
According to English media reports, Ronaldo also had to pay a fine of around 720,000 British pounds (approx. 826,000 euros) for disrespecting the team manager and was not allowed to take part in team training before the Chelsea game. The top scorer had already disappeared from the stadium early in the pre-season, which is why ten Hag saw no opportunity for leniency. "It's a weakening of the squad, but it's important for the attitude and mentality of the group."
ESPN now says that United would like to take the £500,000-a-week deal off their books. With a view to the already small market for such salaries, the waiver of a transfer fee. However, apart from the Saudi Arabian capital club and record champions Al-Hilal, nobody showed interest, "even ambitious and financially strong clubs from Turkey" were unimpressed by the chance to sign Ronaldo.
The hope at Old Trafford is now that the 37-year-old could play a strong World Cup with Portugal in November and December and thus create demand. Alternatively, there would even be a loan from January in order to save at least six months of his salary or at least parts of it in the last year of the contract. However, it should be made more difficult that Ronaldo now seems to be dispensable at United in purely sporting terms. In view of this recent report, it would be a miracle that anything will change in the near future.
