Man Utd to ‘sack’ Cristiano Ronaldo following explosive Piers Morgan interview

Manchester United are preparing to sue Cristiano Ronaldo for alleged breach of contract, according to The Guardian. The second part of the forward’s interview with Piers Morgan aired on Thursday night.

It is believed that the club have been told they have the grounds to terminate Ronaldo’s contract, with the Portugal star set to lose £16 million in wages. The report claims he has already been instructed not to return to the Carrington training base following Portugal’s World Cup campaign.

Ronaldo spoke to Morgan on on his Talk TV show ‘Piers Morgan Uncensored’ and made a number of allegations about the Red Devils, including that he is being ‘forced out’ of the club, that senior executives lacked ‘empathy’ when his newborn child died and that Erik ten Hag ‘doesn’t respect’ him. United were seemingly unaware Ronaldo had been involved in the interview until clips were posted on social media in the days leading up to its airing.

On Friday, a club statement said: “Manchester United has this morning initiated appropriate steps in response to Cristiano Ronaldo’s recent media interview. We will not be making further comment until this process reaches its conclusion.”

The 37-year-old has endured a difficult season following Ten Hag’s arrival, making only four starts in the Premier League and spending a period out of the first team squad after he refused to come on as a substitute in United’s win over Tottenham last month. Ronaldo had pushed for a move away in the summer but his staggering £500,000 a week salary proved a stumbling block in his departure. The former Real Madrid ace remained at Old Trafford but now looks set to be without a club once the World Cup concludes - while he is likely to have to accept a pay cut if he is to earn a fresh start.

Ronaldo also revealed in his interview that he had turned down a £305m deal to join Saudi Arabian side Al-Hilal in the summer though he turned it down as he was ‘happy here’ - also claiming that rumours of nobody wanting him were ‘completely wrong’. The forward had been linked with the likes of Sporting Lisbon, Napoli and Barcelona in recent months.