Manchester United continue to insist that they have moved on from Cristiano Ronaldo, but the Portuguese striker is still present in one form at the Premier League club.
Ronaldo is now an Al-Nassr player, having wrapped up his move to the Saudi Arabian side on Friday by signing a contract until 2025 with the club. The 37-year-old will be earning £173million per year in the Middle East after having his United contract terminated by mutual consent following a controversial interview with Piers Morgan.
The saga loomed large over United during the World Cup break, but the club are determined to move on now he’s gone. Manager Erik ten Hag sanctioned his departure in November and has continually batted away questions about Ronaldo since.
"I don't talk about the past, let's talk about the future,” he told reporters after United beat Wolves 1-0 on New Year’s Eve. Ten Hag will therefore not be happy to learn of an embarrassing blunder from the club’s commercial department.
United fans may well have been given a club calendar for 2023 over the festive period. And they would have got a surprise when they hung it up on New Year’s Day, with Ronaldo the star for the month of January, despite his departure being confirmed way back on November 22.
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A picture of the calendar, which shows Ronaldo celebrating in three pictures, has been posted on Twitter by journalist Tom Williams. “May your new year get off to a better start than whoever put together the official 2023 Manchester United calendar,” he wrote as a caption.
There is still Ronaldo memorabilia available to buy on the Manchester United website, too, with fans able to pick up some bargains since his departure. A red T-shirt with Ronaldo’s name and the United badge on has been reduced from £20 to £4, while keyrings and magnets have gone down from £5 to £2. A Ronaldo badge, meanwhile, is now just £1.
United have done well to move on from Ronaldo on the pitch, with Marcus Rashford scoring in three successive wins since the World Cup. players have been consistent in their messaging around their former teammate, too, with Christian Eriksen summing up the feeling in the dressing room.
"First of all we are sad that Ronaldo is not part of it," Eriksen said this week. "His legacy and his name at any club is special, and for me to be fortunate to play with him in my career was very nice.
"But the football goes on. You feel that the next game after, people will forget what it was like before – and now our focus is really like he is not here."
