Neville demands termination of Manchester United’s contract with Ronaldo

Manchester are better off without Cristiano, we need to get together and break off relations

Former Manchester United defender, eight-time Premier League champion, two-time UEFA Champions League winner Gary Neville expressed the opinion that “the time of arbitrariness of Cristiano Ronaldo at Manchester United must end as soon as possible.

The Portuguese striker, who recently scored his 700th career goal, has been almost permanently on the Manchester United bench this season. Another aggravation of the relationship between the football player and the head coach of the team, Erik ten Hag, occurred after Ronaldo defiantly left the Old Trafford stadium before the final whistle in the match of the 12th round of the English Premier League (EPL) against Tottenham, London, refusing to come on as a substitute at the end of the match. Moreover, sources claimed that the Portuguese not only went to the under-tribune room, but also left the stadium before the team. He was not present in the locker room when teammates celebrated the victory. Ronaldo himself explained his behavior by the fact that he was overwhelmed by emotions.

As a result of this demarche, Cristiano was fined 720 thousand pounds, which is the salary of a 37-year-old striker for two weeks. Moreover, the footballer was publicly suspended from the matches of his team, and he was not in the application for the game with Chelsea.

Neville believes that the situation with Ronaldo should be resolved.

“Cristian will have to go somewhere else and play every week because he can’t accept being on the bench. This is the second time Ronaldo has left Old Trafford and got into his car before his team returned to the dressing room. I think this is unacceptable. Manchester United are better off without him – and ten Hag knows it. The only thing that Cristiano and the club can do is get together next week and end the relationship,” Neville told Sky Sports.

Previously, Neville had already urged Ronaldo to tell the whole truth about his relationship with Manchester United.

“Why does the greatest player of all time (in my opinion) have to wait two weeks to tell Manchester United fans the truth? Get up now and speak! The club is in crisis and needs leaders,” Neville wrote on social media in mid-August 2022.

Another former United defender, Dutchman Jaap Stam, has said he understands Ronaldo’s frustration.

“It is unfair to him that he is remembered because of this situation. He was a world class player, I still think he still is. It is unlikely that Ronaldo wants to get into the history books of football by leaving the field because he was unhappy with not playing,” said Stam.

It is noteworthy that the head coach of Manchester United ten Hag said on October 22 that he was counting on the Portuguese striker during the current season.

“Will Ronaldo stay until the end of the season, do I want to keep him? Yes. His departure in January is speculation. I’m counting on Cristiano,” ten Haga was quoted as saying by the Manchester Evening News.