Manchester United dedicated an 81-word farewell to Cristiano Ronaldo in their Burnley program after his ugly exit last month. Ronaldo’s dramatic interview with TalkTV’s Piers Morgan, in which the team and manager Erik ten Hag came under fire, led United to announce on November 22 that they had mutually decided to end Ronaldo’s contract. In their first competitive game following the resolution of the Ronaldo crisis, United defeated Burnley 2-0 on Wednesday to advance to the Carabao Cup quarterfinals. However, there was no mention of the 37-year-old in Ten Hag’s program notes. The Dutchman instead focused on United’s warm-weather training camp in Spain, their friendlies against Cadiz and Real Betis, staying in touch with his team’s World Cup participants, and United’s final Premier League match against Fulham on November 13.
“Last month, Cristiano Ronaldo left the team amicably,” the Manchester United statement read about Cristiano Ronaldo. “The Portuguese superstar contributed to our winning three Premier League championships, one FA Cup, two League Cups, the Champions League, and the FIFA Club World Cup. He scored 145 goals over the course of two periods and 346 appearances. In 2008, Ronaldo also won the Ballon d’Or. The club expressed its appreciation for Cristiano’s enormous contribution and best wishes for the future in a statement on November 22.”
“Manchester United’s only option was to put an end to the Ronaldo scandal,” Gary Neville said. “They had to put an end to the crisis; they couldn’t let it get to this point before the World Cup. They dealt with issue quite swiftly, and both sides are happy with how it turned out. It’s unfortunate that things ended in this way, but it had to come to an end. If all goes well, he will continue to play football abroad, and Manchester United can advance under Erik ten Hag.”
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