LONDON
\nCristiano Ronaldo\u2019s controversial second spell at Manchester United is to end with \u201cimmediate effect\u201d, the club announced Tuesday before a report emerged that their US-based owners, the Glazer family, could sell the Premier League giants.
\nPortugal forward Ronaldo set the stage for his Old Trafford exit last week with his outspoken television interview on TalkTV in which he said he felt \u201cbetrayed\u201d by the club and had no respect for new manager Erik ten Hag.
\n\u201cCristiano Ronaldo is to leave Manchester United by mutual agreement, with immediate effect,\u201d said a United statement.
\n\u201cThe club thanks him for his immense contribution across two spells at Old Trafford, scoring 145 goals in 346 appearances, and wishes him and his family well for the future.
\n\u201cEveryone at Manchester United remains focused on continuing the team\u2019s progress under Erik ten Hag and working together to deliver success on the pitch.\u201d
\nRonaldo issued a statement of his own, saying: \u201cFollowing conversations with Manchester United we have mutually agreed to end our contract early.
\n\u201cI love Manchester United and I love the fans, that will never ever change. However, it feels like the right time for me to seek a new challenge.
\n\u201cI wish the team every success for the remainder of the season and for the future.\u201d
\nAs well as criticising the Old Trafford hierarchy and Ten Hag during his interview the 37-year-old Ronaldo, currently with the Portugal squad at the World Cup in Qatar, was scathing about the club\u2019s US owners.
\nRonaldo said the Glazer family cared far more about the money-making potential of United than results on the pitch.
\nThe Glazers have long been unpopular with the United faithful, their 17 year reign marked by declining on-field performance and repeated fan protests
\nSky News reported Tuesday the Glazers were preparing to formally announce their intention to examine potential sources of outside investment that could include either an auction of United, with a full or partial sale, or strategic partnership with third parties other possible options.
\nUnited have not won the Premier League title since 2013 and have sacked several managers following the retirement of Alex Ferguson.
\nThey have also failed to qualify for this term\u2019s Champions League, a setback which may have encouraged Ronaldo in appearing to push for a move in the pre-season transfer window.
\nBut leading English and European clubs opted against moving for a player who, for all he recently scored the 700th goal of his club career, is not the force he once was yet still commands a reported weekly pay packet at United of around \u00a3500,000 ($593,000).
\nThe five-time Ballon d\u2019Or winner has, however, reportedly held talks with Bayern Munich and been linked with an emotional return to Sporting Lisbon, where he came through the youth ranks.
\nFormer Manchester United defender Rio Ferdinand said both Ronaldo and the club had got what they wanted.
\n\u201cCristiano obviously did that interview with the mindset that he wasn\u2019t happy and wanted to get out of the club,\u201d Ferdinand, who played alongside Ronaldo at Old Trafford, told the BBC. \u201cHe made that very clear.
\n\u201cI think Erik ten Hag got what he wanted in this situation as well. Both parties are happy and we can move on.\u201d
\nRonaldo has undoubtedly been angered by his reduced status at United, with the club no longer at the summit of English football.
\nIn 2009 he left a United who were one of the top teams in Europe but the side he rejoined limped to a sixth-place finish in the Premier League despite his 24 goals in all competitions.
\nRonaldo made his name in his first spell at Old Trafford, developing from a prodigiously gifted teenager when he arrived in 2003 into one of the best forwards in world football.
\nHe won his first Champions League trophy and first Ballon d\u2019Or during a trophy-laden spell under Ferguson.
\nHe left United after six years for Real Madrid, where he became the club\u2019s greatest goalscorer, winning the Champions League four more times.
\nRonaldo spent three years at Juventus from 2018 before a return to Manchester.
\nBut he has been a peripheral figure this season in an improving side under Ten Hag and was recently disciplined for refusing to come on as a substitute.
\nRonaldo, who has scored just three goals this season, had returned to the team in recent weeks and even captained the Red Devils in a 3-1 loss at Aston Villa, though he was not in the squad for United\u2019s final match before the World Cup break.
\nWith a world-record 117 international goals he is captaining Portugal at his fifth World Cup.
\nThe Euro 2016 winners open their campaign in Qatar against Ghana on Thursday.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
LONDON Cristiano Ronaldo\u2019s controversial second spell at Manchester United is to end with \u201cimmediate effect\u201d, the club announced Tuesday before a report emerged that their US-based owners, the Glazer family, could sell the Premier League giants. Portugal forward Ronaldo set the stage for his Old Trafford exit last week with his outspoken television interview on […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":269631,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[3],"tags":[1063],"class_list":{"0":"post-297063","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-sports","8":"tag-cristiano-ronaldo"},"yoast_head":"\n