United signed Ronaldo for a second time last summer after shelling out nearly £13million to prise him away from Juventus. And he bagged 24 goals in all competitions during his first season back in England. But Ronaldo fell out of favour under new boss Erik ten Hag and started just four of the team’s 14 Premier League matches before the World Cup.
According to CBS Sports Golazo, it is true that Ronaldo’s agent Jorge Mendes approached Newcastle in an attempt to agree a move to St James’ Park for his client. But Newcastle’s current wage structure wouldn’t allow them to consider signing the Portugal international even if he took a pay cut. Howe is keen to keep financial consistency between Newcastle’s top players, with none of them earning anywhere near the amount Ronaldo takes home.
And Howe has already said: “We’re trying to provide long-term growth. At the moment, we have quite an ageing squad. We need to get the average age down, so it might not be a signing we’d necessarily look to make.”
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“Cristiano Ronaldo is to leave Manchester United by mutual agreement, with immediate effect,” the statement read. “The club thanks him for his immense contribution across two spells at Old Trafford.”
And Ronaldo also released his own statement as he said: “Following conversations with Manchester United we have mutually agreed to end our contract early. I love Manchester United and I love the fans, that will never ever change. However, it feels like the right time for me to seek a new challenge. I wish the team every success for the remainder of the season and for the future.”
Ronaldo will now be on the lookout for a new club but will have to wait until the January window opens to join another team despite being a free agent. As well as Newcastle, Chelsea, Napoli, Bayern Munich and Saudi Arabian side Al-Nassr FC are all being heavily linked as possible next destinations for the Portugal star.
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