An alleged wage decrease stipulation in Cristiano Ronaldo’s contract is reported to have fueled his desire to quit Manchester United.
Ronaldo, who scored 18 Premier League goals in 30 games the previous season, has wanted to leave United in order to play in the Champions League after the club was unable to do so the year before.
According to The Times, Ronaldo claimed that United’s poor league performance was not his fault despite the fact that the 37-year-United old’s contract is believed to involve a 25% pay cut due to the club’s absence of Champions League action.
With 18 league goals, Ronaldo felt he had fulfilled his obligation and was angry about the pay drop.
Ronaldo is alleged to have been further frustrated by manager Erik ten Hag’s angry reaction to United’s 4-0 loss to Brentford.
The striker did not appreciate Ten Hag criticising his team for their supposed lack of effort during the game – the boss ordered a 14km run, which he also participated in, as punishment for running 14km less than their opponents.
In the aftermath of the game, Ten Hag realised he would be ready to offload Ronaldo this summer.
There aren’t many potential suitors for the Portugal international because Atletico Madrid, Bayern Munich, and Chelsea have all said they won’t pursue a transfer for Ronaldo.