‘He was past his best…’ -Ex-Manchester United star firmly supports decision to part ways with CR7

Cristiano Ronaldo’s second stint at Manchester United will always be one of the most controversial highlights of the Portuguese football legend’s stellar career. Despite being the best player in the squad, the 5-time Ballon d’Or winner’s contract was mutually terminated in November 2022 after his feud with Erik Ten Hag. However, Manchester United have yet to make an impact in football this season; Cristiano Ronaldo finished as the top goalscorer of 2023 with 54 goals for the Al-Nassr captain.

3 things you need to know 

• Cristiano Ronaldo left Manchester United in November 2022
• Cristiano Ronaldo joined Al-Nassr in January 2023
• Ronaldo finished with 54 goals in 2023 with club and country

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Gordon Strachan believes that it was the right time and decision for United to let go of CR7

Former Manchester United midfielder Gordon Strachan believes the club made the right choice by parting ways with Cristiano Ronaldo in November 2022. The contract of the Portuguese icon was terminated less than 18 months after his return to Old Trafford from Juventus. Ronaldo, who was unhappy with his restricted playing time under Erik Ten Hag, only started four Premier League games in the 2022/23 season.

The final straw was an incendiary interview with Piers Morgan before the 2022 FIFA World Cup, which resulted in Ronaldo's contract with Manchester United being mutually terminated. Despite the fact that Ronaldo finished 2023 as the world's best scorer during the previous 12 months, doubts over the selection surfaced. Strachan, who played for the club from 1984 to 1989, expressed his support for the club's decision in an interview with CRM software sweep.io (h/t GOAL). Strachan said: 

"It was definitely time for him to go; he'd made a few grumbles about being there and a few other things. Whatever you think, he was past his best as well. He can still score goals, that's fine. It was to the detriment of Manchester United that you're trying to pack a team around a 38-year-old."

“You cannot be reliant on players who are that far advanced in their age and build a team around them... Ronaldo was never that guy who closed opposition teams down, even at Real Madrid. They would have seven players behind the ball whilst Ronaldo, Gareth Bale and Karim Benzema stayed up front and didn't track back. That was 10 years ago.”

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Ole Gunnar Solskjaer is the man in charge of securing Cristiano Ronaldo for Manchester United in the summer of 2021. The Red Devils started the process by paying an initial €15 million fee to Juventus to sign the Portuguese captain on a two-year contract starting in September 2021. However, Solskjaer was dismissed from his managing duties only a few months later. Despite the management change, Ronaldo finished the season as the club's leading scorer, with 24 goals in 39 games before all the controversy with Erik Ten Hag.