Manchester United are awaiting the full details of Cristiano Ronaldo’s bombshell interview before reacting but terminating the 37-year-old’s contract is one of the options they are exploring.
In an interview with Piers Morgan, Ronaldo launched a staggering attack on the Red Devils for ‘betraying’ him. He disparaged Erik ten Hag, saying he has ‘no respect’ for the new manager.
The Telegraph has now reported that United are ‘considering tearing up the veteran’s contract in the January transfer window’.
However, this step will only be taken if Ronaldo does not demand to receive the final six months’ pay of his highly-lucrative deal.
The Premier League giants still do not know the full extent of the attack unleashed on them by one of their stars.
However, looking at the excerpts of the interview, it is obvious there is no relationship remaining between Ronaldo and Ten Hag.
If a player publicly says he has no respect for his current manager, he has to leave. There is no other way out.
Ten Hag has had full backing from United’s hierarchy up to this point. The club will back the manager if it is a battle between the manager and the player.
With club football on hiatus due to the upcoming World Cup, the Red Devils have time to decide how to react.
Ronaldo currently earns around £560,000 per week, making him the most expensive player in the English league.
Paying the remaining salary while terminating his contract would be a considerable expense for United. They would want to avoid that, and rightly so.
The five-time Ballon D’Or winner is currently on international duty at the World Cup. His agent Jorge Mendes will be working hard to find him a Champions League club in January.
However, it remains unclear if any European heavyweight will be willing to take on Ronaldo in the middle of the season with such enormous wage demands.
