Is Cristiano Ronaldo’s Manchester fairytale at an end? (Photo: Getty)
Manchester United are reportedly ready to release Cristiano Ronaldo in January if he cannot be sold, following his antics at the Tottenham game on Wednesday night.
Ronaldo left Old Trafford before the end of the 2-0 win over Spurs, an act that disgusted many watching, with Erik ten Hag promising to ‘deal with’ the situation in due course.
On Thursday evening, United put out a statement saying Ronaldo would not be part of their matchday squad for Saturday’s clash at Chelsea.
It looks increasingly likely that the Portuguese forward has already played his last game for the Red Devils and according to reports United are considering cutting their losses on their former star player.
The i report that the club will cancel the 37-year-old’s contract if his agent Jorge Mendes is unable to find him a new team in the January transfer window.
Ronaldo infamously attempted to leave Manchester in the summer after United failed to qualify for the Champions League, and was linked with a wide variety of clubs including Chelsea, Sporting Lisbon, Roma and several Saudi Arabian sides.
However, no one in Europe was willing to take on the five-time Ballon d’Or winner and his massive wage demands, so he stayed at Old Trafford.
But he has not found life under Ten Hag easy, with the manager benching Ronaldo more often than not, including for the Tottenham clash, and when he has played he has struggled to find the back of the net, scoring just once from open play in 12 games.
In spite of all of this, Ronaldo has vowed to up his game, apologising for his actions on Instagram.
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