Cristiano Ronaldo’s relationship with Manchester United is widely regarded as being at its lowest ever point.
The player was axed from the squad facing Chelsea yesterday, having refused to come on as a substitute against Tottenham Hotspur on Wednesday, following a season of poor performances, after missing preseason due to a summer seeking an exit.
And now, if The Sun is to be believed, United could be facing a hefty fee to end the relationship.
United reportedly stood firm on wanting a sizeable fee (in the region of up to £20m) for Ronaldo over the summer.
But should United wish to terminate his contract in January, the club will be forced to pay £10m to get the Portugal star off their books.
An early termination would require Man United to pay Ronaldo’s wages in full up until the point of his contract’s end date – June 30th, 2023, in this case.
Were United to terminate the contract before January, the fee would naturally be higher.
Of course, a mutual agreement between club and player could negotiate that fee down, although it is unclear if Ronaldo would have any interest in lessening any potential payoff.
Likewise, it is difficult to imagine United paying for the privilege of having Ronaldo play for someone else.
However that has happened before on numerous occasions at Old Trafford, with Alexis Sanchez being one such case.
One possibility would be allowing Ronaldo to leave to another club on a free transfer.
Of course for that to happen, somebody would need to want to sign Cristiano Ronaldo and that club would need to be one capable of meeting his considerable financial and sporting demands.
