August 31, 2021, a date that will live on in the memory of Manchester United fans around the world. On that fateful day, the club announced that they had agreed to bring their prodigal son back home.
It was a fairytale couple of days as photos and videos of Cristiano Ronaldo wearing the colors of the club that made him the best in the world graced every social media post and was the topic of discussion among everyone in the world.
And it culminated in a special match against Newcastle United where the Portuguese turned Old Trafford back on by scoring two goals on his second debut.
Not many would have imagined that such a romantic story would come to such a bitter end next season. The Portugal international struggled to make an impact under new manager Erik ten Hag and therefore decided to give a no-holds-barred interview.
The CR7 fairy tale is over
During that highly publicized interview, the 37-year-old criticized the club for betraying him and the manager for disrespecting him.
The 20-time English league champions had no choice but to mutually agree to a termination that has left former United number 7 without a club.
According to Gary Neville, who also came under Ronaldo’s ire during the interview, told Sky Sports that the five-time Ballon d’Or winner can still play for a top European club.
Gary Neville on Ronaldo.pic.twitter.com/PdGiWUExGb
– CristianoXtra (@CristianoXtra_) November 24, 2022
“I think Cristiano Ronaldo will be looking for a top-tier club on a four or five month contract where he can come in and make a brilliant cameo appearance in the elite of European football,” Neville said.
“I think he has a great four or five months somewhere where he’s going to go in and score 15 or 20 goals in that period.”
His agent Jorge Mendes’ best efforts to find an elite club have so far failed to pan out with Bayern Munich, Chelsea and Newcastle United all saying no to the prospect of signing the superstar.
What’s next for CR7?
But knowing Ronaldo’s drive for success, he’ll be desperate to prove all his critics wrong in England and around the world and that the Red Devils were wrong to let him go.
“That’s what I think would be his priority: stay in the Champions League, stay on top and show that what happened at Manchester United was not right.
“Everyone in Manchester will say ‘why didn’t we keep it?’ and the people of the Premier League will too.
Alternatively, MLS clubs and Saudi Arabia and Brazil have shown great interest in acquiring the Portugal captain, but the player still wants to prove he can make it big in Europe.
“I think he will come to the end of the season and then he will think about the next two years and what his last football project could be like. Are you in the United States or the Middle East? Is it somewhere else in Europe where you haven’t played before?
“I hope he does very well wherever he goes. In the end I didn’t train in Manchester, but it was the right thing for the club to break ties and the right thing for Cristiano.”
