Former Manchester United captain Gary Neville said that the English club should terminate the contract of its star Cristiano and Ronaldo, following the recent statements made by the Portuguese.
In a resounding interview broadcast Sunday and Monday, Ronaldo said he felt “betrayed” by club officials and had “no respect for Dutch coach Erik Ten Hag”, accusing them of wanting to oust him from the team.
The role of the “Don” in the “Red Devils” squad has declined since Ten Hag, who came from Ajax Amsterdam, took charge last May, and he was punished this season for refusing to enter as a substitute in a match.
But his latest attack went further as he also slammed the club’s owners, the American Glazer family, claiming they “don’t care” regarding the team’s sporting success.
Club legend Neville told Sky Sports: I don’t think he wants a way back. He wouldn’t have done this interview if he wanted the way back.
And the former right-back, who won eight league titles with United and the Champions League twice, continued: He knew that it would hit the headlines and that it would be the end of his career with Manchester United.
There are regarding six months remaining in Ronaldo’s contract, who returned to United in the summer of 2021 from Italian Juventus, following he left him in 2009 for Spanish Real Madrid.
In his first period, he won the league title three times and the Champions League in 2008 when he won the Golden Ball award for the first time out of 5 in the same year.
However, the results upon his return were not what he wanted, as the team finished sixth last season, in which Ronaldo was the best scorer with 24 goals in all competitions, and thus failed to qualify for the Champions League.
According to media and close associates, he tried to leave Old Trafford during the summer for this reason.
Neville continued: I wonder what Manchester United are doing because the truth is they know they have to terminate Cristiano’s contract or they open the door, in a precedent of its kind, so any player can criticize them in the future.
He added: I agree with some of the things Cristiano said, and many Manchester United fans will agree with many of the things he said. But the truth is if you are an employee of a company and you say these things, your employer has to terminate the contract and United has to do it in the next few days.
United issued a statement Monday saying: The club will consider a response following confirming the full facts, noting that a Ronaldo banner has already been removed from the Old Trafford facade.
Ronaldo will miss the friendly match for the Portuguese national team once morest Nigeria on Thursday in Lisbon in preparation for the World Cup in Qatar, which begins on Sunday, due to gastritis.