Manchester United dedicated a brief 81-word farewell to forward Cristiano Ronaldo in their official programme for the Carabao Cup win over Burnley on Wednesday.Ronaldo agreed a mutual termination of his contract at Old Trafford last month following a TV interview with Piers Morgan in which he heavily criticised the club’s manager, Erik ten Hag, and owners, the Glazer family.
United were back in action for the first time since the World Cup break — their first fixture since Ronaldo’s departure — as they earned a 2-0 win over Championship side Burnley to advance to the Carabao Cup quarterfinals.
The club made a brief reference to Ronaldo’s exit in their “Worth Knowing” section of the matchday programme, saying: “Cristiano Ronaldo left the club by mutual agreement last month.
“The Portuguese superstar scored 145 goals across two spells and 436 appearances, and helped us win three Premier League titles, one FA Cup, two League Cups, the Champions League and the FIFA Club World Cup. Ronaldo was also crowned Ballon d’Or winner in 2008.
“In a statement on Nov. 22, the club put on record its gratitude for Cristiano’s immense contribution and wished him and his family well for the future.”
Ronaldo is now a free agent as he bids to make a return to club football. ESPN reported earlier this month that the 37-year-old trained alone at Real Madrid’s Valdebebas training ground shortly after returning home from the World Cup in Qatar.
Ronaldo was dropped by Portugal coach Fernando Santos during their World Cup campaign, scoring just one goal, and was used only as a substitute in their knockout matches against Switzerland and Morocco.