Cristiano Ronaldo has had his contract terminated by Manchester United, as was confirmed last night, and Fabrizio Romano has concluded that his second spell with the Red Devils probably has to go down as a “mistake” from a sporting point of view.
The Portugal international returned to Man Utd last summer, making the surprise move from Juventus, and although he had decent numbers in terms of goals in his first season back, it’s hard to argue the deal was a success.
Even when Ronaldo was part of the team and playing well, some fans felt he made others around him worse, and the club as a whole certainly endured a really poor campaign, finishing sixth in the Premier League and failing to win any silverware.
And things have just gone from bad to worse for Ronaldo this term, falling out with manager Erik ten Hag after mainly being left on the bench, and then leaving the club with no choice but to let him go after his controversial interview with Piers Morgan.
Discussing the whole situation in his exclusive CaughtOffside column the Daily Briefing, Fabrizio Romano said: “Talks were very normal between Manchester United and Cristiano Ronaldo. He knew the situation was too tense, and the club knew the only way was to separate.
“Man Utd were particularly unhappy with the player’s comments on Ten Hag, this is something they really didn’t accept. Ronaldo will not have any compensation, as both sides wanted a clear resolution. Where will he end up, we will see!”
He added: “I think nothing will change the relationship between Ronaldo and Man Utd fans, it will stay forever because the history will always be there.
“But joining Man United in that moment of his career was probably a mistake purely from a sporting point of view.”