Ronaldo leaves Manchester United

Portugal soccer player Christiano Ronaldo (photo) is leaving English Premier League Manchester United ahead of Portugal’s first match with Ghana on Nov 25 at the World Cup Games in Qatar.

Manchester United announced that Ronaldo would leave immediately based on a mutual agreement. He will depart from United again in 15 months since returning to the soccer league in August last year.

Ronaldo transformed himself into a global player at United from 2003 to 2009 and played for Real Madrid (Spain) and Juventus (Italy) before returning to Manchester United in 12 years. He scored 18 goals in 30 matches in the 2021-2022 EPL and 24 in 38 official matches but did not deliver good performance in the recent season amid discord with manager Erik ten Hag.

Ronaldo’s contract with United is valid until June next year, so whether United should pay out weekly compensation for the remaining period has also been under discussion. Ronaldo reportedly received more than 5 million pounds (around 780 million won). United would be placed in a tight position if he asked for compensation for the remaining period. Local media outlets reported that “both sides did not wish to get involved in legal disputes and thus reached an agreement in which Ronaldo would not request to be paid for the remaining term.”


leper@donga.com