Cristiano Ronaldo’s Man Utd exit ‘hurt’, admits club legend

Robin Bairner

• 16 Dec 2022 08:50 GMT
• 2 min read

Cristiano Ronaldo’s exit from Manchester United has “hurt” Old Trafford legend Antonio Valencia.

Ronaldo presently finds himself as a free agent after being released by mutual consent in November in the aftermath of an unsolicited interview he gave with Talk TV, in which he said he felt “betrayed” and “disrespected” by the Red Devils.

It led to his image being promptly taken down from outside Old Trafford and ultimately saw him exit the club after an unhappy start to 2022/23, in which he had scored only three goals and had regularly found himself on the bench.

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And Valencia, who was 10 years on the books of Man Utd, says it was an undignified way for such a figure to bow out.

“It was too bad Cristiano Ronaldo left Manchester United in the way he did,” he told The Athletic.

“A player like him should leave a club by walking off the pitch to applause at a sold-out stadium. The people there loved him.

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“The interview he gave recently was unfortunate. He’ll have his reasons for saying what he did, but I felt awful about the way he left the club. It hurt.

“I hope everything goes well for him at his new club. I wish Ronaldo nothing but the best.”

What next for Ronaldo?

Ronaldo’s next step for his career continues to appear uncertain. Offers from leading European clubs are not expected to be forthcoming, although there has been some tentative interest from Chelsea and Arsenal, who could use him to cover injuries.

Meanwhile, a mooted return to Real Madrid appears to be a non-starter, although at least one member of Los Blancos’ squad is reportedly ready to “beg” Florentino Perez for the five-time Ballon d’Or winner to be welcomed back.

Instead, the Saudi Pro League looks Ronaldo’s likeliest destination, with Al-Nassr leading Al-Hilal in a big-money battle to land the Portugal star.