Ronaldo’s bitter end in Manchester. Where can he go?

Cristiano Ronaldo is going through the worst period of his career. At Manchester United, he’s just sitting on the bench and coach Erik ten Hag has no confidence in him. It has been bubbling inside the Portuguese legend for quite some time now, sending out a bombshell in the form of a scathing interview. This surely spells the end for United.

The interview Ronaldo sent out to the world was very pointed. It accumulated the anger of the last six months when Manchester United wouldn’t let him go when he wanted to leave, then the coach ten Hag publicly leaned on him and left him on the bench for almost the entire autumn.

“I have no respect for him because he shows none for me. And if you don’t respect me, I’ll never respect you,” Ronaldo was heard saying in an interview with TalkTV, among other things.

It is clear that he cannot continue at Manchester United after those words. It is impossible to imagine Ronaldo reconciling with the hague and starting to play regularly.

And Ronaldo himself won’t even want to continue in this position where others get priority. So it’s a very bitter end for a legend at the club where he broke into big football and where he returned at the end of his career to help the club regain its tarnished lustre.

But what now? Already in the summer, the Portuguese made sure that there was no great interest in him among the top clubs. Betting on Ronaldo is a big risk.

At 37, you’re reaching for a shorter-term option, but one that comes with an astronomical salary. Moreover, you have to adapt your whole game to him and not every coach wants to do that.

At the moment, two options seem the most realistic. Return home, to Sporting Lisbon, whose academy he joined at the age of 12. At 18, he impressed so much in the A-team that Manchester United bought him.

Sporting would certainly welcome him in their squad. It’s a bit unfortunate that he didn’t qualify for the spring stage of the Champions League, he had it in his hands, but in the end he will only play in the Europa League in the spring.

The other option is to go to the US. In America, he would be an absolute legend, an untouchable god, and would have back the respect he so much demands and deserves. But will he want to leave big-time football? It’s hard to say.

Source: TalkTV