Cristiano Ronaldo is to leave Manchester United with immediate effect, the club has announced.
In a statement, the club said: “Cristiano Ronaldo is to leave Manchester United by mutual agreement, with immediate effect.”
The decision comes days after Ronaldo launched a blistering attack on the club in an interview with Piers Morgan, accusing United of betraying him by forcing him out of the club.
Unitedthanked Ronaldo, 37, in its statement and said the club was focused on working together.
“The club thanks him for his immense contribution across two spells at Old Trafford, scoring 145 goals in 346 appearances, and wishes him and his family well for the future,” it said.
“Everyone at Manchester United remains focused on continuing the team’s progress under Erik ten Hag and working together to deliver success on the pitch.”
Ronaldo said: “Following conversations with Manchester United we have mutually agreed to end our contract early.
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“I love Manchester United and I love the fans, that will never ever change.
“However, it feels like the right time for me to seek a new challenge.
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“I wish the team every success for the remainder of the season and for the future.”
Image: Ronaldo said he felt ‘provoked’ by his coach Erik ten Hag
Ronaldo has been a regular on the bench this season, scoring three goals in 16 appearances.
In the interview with Morgan on TalkTV, Ronaldo also said he had “no respect” for boss Erik ten Hag, and alleged two senior figures at Old Trafford treated him with suspicion when he said his daughter Bella was sick with bronchitis, three months after her twin brother died.
Departure ‘inevitable’
Rob Harris, Sky’s sports correspondent, said his departure was “inevitable” after the interview.
“Once Cristiano Ronaldo gave that interview last week saying he felt betrayed by Manchester United, as well as criticising the club, the standards of coaching, and the methodology and the fabric of the club, it looked like his time at Manchester United was coming to an end,” Harris said.
“This is the end of his second period at the club. He’d barely been there a year or so. United thought he was heading to Manchester City when they signed him a year ago. They managed to convince him. Sir Alex Ferguson, the former manager, managed to convince him not to go to their arch-rivals, but it has been a souring of relations.”
He also pointed out that Ronaldo has not had “the same impact” as before.
Image: Manchester United manager Erik ten Hag and Ronaldo
“He had not been a significant part of this season. Only one goal was scored and he’d even left some games early – which led to him one point being banished from the team for a while.”
Ronaldo is now on international duty with Portugal in Qatar, focusing on the start of their World Cup campaign on Thursday against Ghana.
He will not be looking for a new club immediately, according to Harris.
Manchester United was understood to be “extremely disappointed” with Ronaldo’s interview with Morgan and initially said it would be “considering its response” to the interview.
Ronaldo claims he’s ‘bullet-proof’
The Portugal star had a defiant response to criticism of his comments after his arrival in Qatar, telling a news conference: “I am bullet-proof, I wear an iron suit.
“From your side, it is easy to look at how we can choose timings. Sometimes you write truths, sometimes you write lies. I don’t have to worry about what others think.”
He also insisted that the awkward handshake between him and his teammate Bruno Fernandes after the interview was actually a joke between the teammates.
Image: Ronaldo at Lisbon airport en route to Qatar. Pic: AP
‘Legendary status’
Former Manchester United player Rio Ferdinand weighed on Ronaldo’s departure, saying he believes his controversial exit from Old Trafford will not detract from his legacy at the club.
He believes the Portuguese star got the result he wanted from his interview with Piers Morgan, and still deserves to be remembered fondly by fans.
“I don’t think this affects or detracts from Cristiano Ronaldo’s legacy at the football club – what he’s achieved, his legendary status, I believe doesn’t change,” the sports pundit told his Youtube channel.
“The measure of what he was when he was in the red shirt, playing football, and the amount of successful moments and trophies that he brought to the club when he was here, becoming the best player in the world when he was at Manchester United – these things you cannot erase from history.”
The 19-year-old woman who died after she was attacked by a dog at a flat in Bristol on Wednesday has been named as Morgan Dorsett from Shropshire.
Two people – a man and a woman both aged in their 20s – have been arrested over the attack and have been released on conditional bail.
Initial reports suggested the dog may be an XL bully, but confirming the breed will form part of the police assessment process, according to Avon and Somerset Police.
It was sedated and seized by officers.
Image: An XL bully. File pic: PA
Ms Dorsett’s family thanked the public for their support and those who have left flowers near the scene.
Officers were called to an incident in the Hartcliffe area of Bristol at 7.19pm on Wednesday.
Paramedics and police officers attended but Ms Dorsett died at the scene.
Image: Ms Dorsett. Pic: Avon and Somerset Police
On Thursday, Inspector Terry Murphy said: “Our thoughts, first and foremost, are with the family of the young woman who’s tragically died as a result of yesterday evening’s incident. They have been updated and will be supported by a family liaison officer.
“I’d also like to thank the officers and paramedics who attended yesterday evening and tried to save her life. Support is in place for them.
“A full investigation is now well under way to establish the full circumstances of the events that led to her death.”
Bargain Hunt auctioneer Charles Hanson has been cleared of coercive control and assault allegations relating to his wife.
The 46-year-old was accused of being violent towards Rebecca Hanson over an eight-year period.
The charges were brought after he was arrested in June 2023.
The TV auctioneer, from Mackworth, Derby, denied controlling or coercive behaviour spanning from 2015 to 2023, assault occasioning actual bodily harm, and assault by beating. The two assault charges related to incidents in 2015 and 2023.
During the trial, Hanson claimed his wife had controlled him. He told the court he was “almost a slave” to her, saying she left him “a beaten and broken man” by controlling him and making him subservient towards her.
She had claimed her husband was violent towards her and put her in a headlock in 2012, while she pregnant with a baby she later lost.
Mrs Hanson also alleged her husband repeatedly “grabbed” her, scratched her as she tried to snatch a mobile phone and pushed her twice during a row.
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Image: Hanson outside the court with his parents today. Pic: PA
The auctioneer told the court his wife was allowed “to do what she wanted” but had experienced “moments and episodes” including one which saw her claim his legs being crossed amounted to abuse.
Jurors deliberated for around four and a half hours before delivering not guilty verdicts on all charges.
As the verdicts were returned, Hanson smiled at his parents, who were sat in the front row of the public gallery at Derby Crown Court, and gave them a thumbs-up.
After thanking the jurors for their care in considering the case, Judge Martin Hurst told Hanson: “You have been found not guilty. That is the end of the case. You will hear no more about it and you are free to go.”
The TV star’s parents wept and hugged their son after he was discharged from the dock.
Hanson ‘relieved this is all over’
Image: Hanson speaks to media after the verdict. Pic: PA
Speaking to reporters outside the court, Hanson said: “I’m delighted that after a year and a half the truth has finally come out.
“I can finally live my life again. I feel this burden has finally been lifted.”
“It has been a tormentuous time and all I want now is to readjust to what has been such an ordeal,” he continued. “I am so relieved that this is all over.”
As well as regularly featuring on Bargain Hunt, Hanson has appeared on Flog It! and Antiques Road Trip.
A self-described “monster” who beat a top chef to death near Notting Hill Carnival has been jailed for life.
Omar Wilson repeatedly punched and kicked Mussie Imnetu during an altercation outside a restaurant in Queensway, west London,on 26 August last year.
Wilson, 31, then left the scene to go clubbing.
Mr Imnetu, 41, who worked under star chefs Gordon Ramsay and Marcus Wareing, died in hospital four days later, without regaining consciousness.
Image: Mussie Imnetu. Pic: Metropolitan Police
Sentencing Wilson to a minimum 18 years, Judge Philip Katz said Mr Imnetu’s “brutal” killing was “abhorrent”.
“Mussie and those who loved him are the victims in this case and the impact on them of his murder has been severe,” he said.
“Mussie was defenceless on the ground when you punched and kicked him to death.”
He continued: “You could not control your temper. Only a few seconds after punches were aimed by both of you you tripped Mussie and he fell to the ground and you could have walked away.
“As he knelt you rained further punches down on his head. You could have walked away.
“However, you stood up, raised your leg and kicked him hard to the head. Kicking someone to the head when they are defenceless on the ground is abhorrent.”
Image: CCTV footage of Omar Wilson at a security point after the assault. Pic: Metropolitan Police
Mr Imnetu’s wife, Linda, described her husband as “respected, admired and loved” in a pre-recorded victim impact statement played in court.
“Mussie didn’t just leave behind a legacy for his family, he left an indelible mark on his workplace and community,” she said.
“Nothing can undo what has been taken from us. I ask the court to remember the man Mussie was: his character, his integrity and the life he built; not just the circumstances of his passing.”
An audio recording of Mr Imnetu’s six-year-old son wishing his “daddy” goodbye was also played in court, which the judge called “heart-rending”.
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CCTV footage was played in court during the trial showing Wilson approaching Mr Imnetu and headbutting him.
Around a minute later, Wilson punched Mr Imnetu five times in the head, continued to repeatedly punch him while he was on his hands and knees, and then kicked him in the head.
Wilson of Napier Road, east London, told the Old Bailey he was acting in self defence, telling jurors: “I just regret that somebody’s life was taken while I was trying to defend mine.”
He claimed Mr Imnetu had a broken bottle – something Judge Katz described as “a deliberate lie”.
The court heard after the attack that Wilson had told an associate he “crossed the line”.
In a message, he said: “There’s a monster in me, man, and it’s just like sometimes it comes out.
“And I think I’ve messed up now, I’ve messed up, everything’s finished.”