Manchester United's announcement of their re-signing of Cristiano Ronaldo last summer sent reverberations around football. The tweet which announced the transfer quickly became the most-liked tweet from a sporting organisation ever and it was made even sweeter for the five-time Ballon d'Or winner by surpassing Paris Saint-Germain’s Lionel Messi announcement tweet.
There have been 450 days since Ronaldo's return was announced and the club are now rapidly gaining likes on social media again, but on this occasion, it has been Tuesday evening's announcement of the player's departure that has caused the interactions.
United confirmed that Ronaldo is to leave the club by mutual agreement with immediate effect on Tuesday and within 30 minutes the tweet had exploded to amass 225,000 likes, which suggests it might eventually set yet another Twitter record.
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Ronaldo said 'he does not chase records, the records chase him' in his interview with Piers Morgan and he was right about that, at least. United did not care about Ronaldo gloating in the interview, but they certainly did care about him stating that he doesn't respect Erik ten Hag. There was no coming back for Ronaldo after those comments and the right decision has been made.
A statement from United, announcing Ronaldo's departure, read: "The 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. Everyone at Manchester United remains focused on continuing the team’s progress under Erik ten Hag and working together to deliver success on the pitch."
Ronaldo might be a marketing phenomenon, but he's not United's player anymore and that's exactly what he wanted. Ten Hag has given him just four Premier League starts this season and the player was never going to accept such limited involvement.
In his mind, he's a five-time Ballon d'Or winner, who remains the best player in the world, but in reality, he's a player in decline who is now struggling to accept he's in the winter of his career, someone who is struggling to accept it's almost over.
Ronaldo has scored three goals this season and two of those (a rebound and a penalty) were against FC Sheriff. He's looked like a 37-year-old, providing nothing off the ball, his finishing has been uncharacteristically poor and he's been rightly benched.
The player's frustration at not regularly starting also spilt into a problem for Ten Hag, with his refusal to be substituted against Tottenham at Old Trafford a shameful episode, which felt like the beginning of the end of his time at the club.
That tantrum was the beginning of the end for Ronaldo and the interview with Morgan was the nadir. Ronaldo made some valid points in the interview, but it was obvious his motivation for speaking out was to secure an exit from United.
Ronaldo expressed he wanted to leave the club in the summer and that 'traditional approach' to force a move didn't work. The only concrete offer he received was from Saudi Arabia and so he turned to Piers Morgan to engineer his transfer away. An offer from Saudi Arabia and a conversation with Morgan is where Ronaldo currently finds himself.
The Portuguese star knew he would grab the world's attention and force the club to consider terminating his contract with his sensational interview last week. His position was untenable and that was deliberate. Ronaldo had chosen the nuclear option.
The interview exploded in the club's face and it's been a sad ending to Ronaldo's second stint at Old Trafford. There has been plenty of talk about his legacy, but it's hard to imagine he will be moulded in bronze alongside The Holy Trinity anytime soon.
The word 'togetherness' has become a buzzword for Ten Hag during his premiership and Ronaldo has been the antithesis of what he is trying to build. He has not bought into what the Dutchman is trying to achieve and it's clear a divorce was needed.
United will be better off without Ronaldo this season and the player will be better off away from the club, as he wasn't starting. It's just a shame that Ronaldo had to orchestrate a transfer by trashing the house and slamming the door on his way out.
Adeus, Cristiano.
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