Manchester United are preparing to sack Cristiano Ronaldo in a move that would make a significant dent in the highest wage bill ever assembled.
The club may be in a position to tear up the superstar's contract if they are advised under employment law that his behaviour is a serious enough breach of discipline. Ronaldo has no future at Old Trafford following his bombshell interview with Piers Morgan.
Ronaldo, 37, launched a dramatic attack on his employers and their new manager in a bombshell interview with Morgan. A clip of him discussing how he felt "betrayed" by the club was published late on Sunday evening and the full interview will be released this week.
United's annual wage bill is an eye-watering £384.2million – the largest in the Premier League. It is no surprise that Ronaldo is the highest earner not only at the club but in the league. The Portuguese superstar earns £515,385 per week at Old Trafford with his contract running to 30 June 2023.
This is £140,000-plus more than any other player at the club - similar to his deal at Juventus, where he was by far their best-paid player. With over seven months of his contract at Old Trafford remaining, there could be a significant saving made on his wages.
If the Portuguese star was to leave the club at the start of the January transfer window, that would total half of his annual contract. In pure wage terms, this would net United a cool saving of £13.4million.
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The cost of Ronaldo's contract with United is so significant that should they be able to part ways with the forward at the start of December, they would bag a total saving of £15.6million – with each month of his contract costing the club more than £2.2million.
United would still have a tall wage bill, with David De Gea earning £375,000 per week while Jadon Sancho, Raphael Varane and Casemiro all earn £300,000 or more each week. Anthony Martial, Bruno Fernandes and Marcus Rashford all are on contracts of £200,000 per week or more.
The true cost of Ronaldo leaving the club would be further conjecture, as any contract termination may well incur a pay-off cost. However, that lump sum payment would likely fall well short of the overall cost of the player's contract, which may even allow United scope to replace him in the January transfer window.
