The inside story of Ronaldo's departure from the team is revealed
1. The fuse of leaving the team: an explosive interview
In November 2022, on the eve of the upcoming World Cup in Qatar, Portuguese star Cristiano Ronaldo was interviewed by the famous host Pierce Morgan. This high-profile exclusive interview caused an uproar in the global football world and became the trigger for Ronaldo's break with Manchester United.
In the interview, Ronaldo mercilessly lashed out at the club's top and management, bluntly saying that "I don't respect Ten Hag because he doesn't respect me". He also revealed that his situation at Manchester United was extremely difficult, with the club's facilities outdated and outdated, and even basic training conditions could not be met. These explosive remarks were undoubtedly a blow to Manchester United and completely damaged Ronaldo's relationship with the club.
Ten Hag said in an interview that he didn't know Ronaldo wanted to leave Manchester United until he saw the interview, and Ronaldo had never revealed this idea to him before. It can be seen that this explosive interview was unexpected for both parties and became the fuse that ignited this controversy.
Shortly after Ronaldo's interview was broadcast, Manchester United announced that it had reached an agreement with Ronaldo to terminate his contract early. This marked the end of Cristiano Ronaldo's second journey at Manchester United, and the two sides parted happily because of this explosive interview.
Second, the sky-high annual salary of Saudi giants is 200 million euros
After leaving Manchester United, Ronaldo's whereabouts once became the focus of global attention. After a period of rumors, on December 30, 2022, Saudi giants Riyadh Victory Club finally officially announced the signing of the 37-year-old Portuguese star, and the two sides signed a contract until 2025.
According to the details of the contract revealed, Ronaldo's annual salary at Riyadh Victory is as high as 200 million euros, plus a signing fee of 100 million euros, which is undoubtedly the highest player contract ever. This sky-high annual salary not only far exceeds Messi and Mbappe, the highest-paid players in football today, but also sets a new income record for football players.
Riyadh Victory was able to make such a crazy offer mainly thanks to the deep pockets of its owner, Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman. As one of the largest clubs in Saudi Arabia, Riyadh Victory signed Ronaldo this time undoubtedly to increase its own popularity and win more attention in Asia and even around the world.
Cristiano Ronaldo said of joining Riyadh Victory: "The vision of what Riyadh Victory has done and developed in Saudi football is very encouraging. As you can see from Saudi Arabia's performance at the World Cup, this is a country with huge football ambitions and great potential. ＂
3. Transfer Insider: The role of the agent is delicate
In the inside story of Cristiano Ronaldo's transfer to Riyadh Victory, the role of the agent can be described as delicate and complex. For a long time, Ronaldo's agent has been the famous Portuguese super-agent Jorge Mendes. But in this transfer, Mendes has not played the dominant role as usual.
According to reports, after Ronaldo left Manchester United, there was a rift in his relationship with Mendes. Although Mendes has been looking for a home for Ronaldo, Ronaldo does not fully agree with Mendes' arrangement. Cristiano Ronaldo has chosen another "good friend" Ricardo Regef to lead the transfer talks.
Regef was originally just Ronaldo's personal assistant, but his role became increasingly important during the World Cup, becoming Ronaldo's "third party". It was Regef, not Mendes, who negotiated with Riyadh Victory and ultimately led to the sky-high transfer deal.
It was revealed that the reason why Ronaldo gave up Mendes was mainly because the two sides had differences on Ronaldo's future development path. Mendes believes that it will be difficult for Ronaldo to join the European giants again, while Ronaldo has been hoping to return to the Champions League. It wasn't until after the World Cup defeat that Ronaldo finally chose the offer for Riyadh's victory that Regev had negotiated.
Fourth, Ten Hag's future for Manchester United is in doubt
Another important impact of Ronaldo's departure is that the future of Manchester United manager Ten Hag has also been clouded. In that explosive interview with Cristiano Ronaldo, he publicly expressed disrespect for Ten Hag, which was undoubtedly a blow to the latter.
Although Ten Hag has stated that he only focuses on the team, it is widely believed that Ronaldo's departure has had an impact on his situation. On the one hand, Ronaldo's departure will undoubtedly affect Manchester United's record; On the other hand, Ronaldo's public accusations against him have also weakened his authority at Manchester United to a large extent.
It has been reported that Ten Hag could be sacked by Manchester United if he misses out of Champions League qualification this season. Some reports have even revealed that United's hierarchy are already considering Ten Hag's successor, including Gareth Southgate, Rodgervi and others.
Ten Hag himself doesn't seem to care too much about these rumours, saying he just wants to focus on leading his team to better results. But the shadow of Cristiano Ronaldo's departure has hung over him, and his Manchester United coaching career is facing a serious test.