Sporting Lisbon and Chelsea are the frontrunners to sign Cristiano Ronaldo next after it was announced that he would be leaving Manchester United with immediate effect.
The news broke following last week's Piers Morgan interview where the 37-year-old took aim at United, Erik ten Hag, the Glazers and his former teammates Gary Neville and Wayne Rooney for criticising him. After the second part of the Ronaldo conversation, United released a statement which claimed that they were taking 'appropriate steps' to deal with the situation.
MEN Sport understood that United were weighing up the possibility of sacking and suing the forward for his comments. Then, on Tuesday evening, the Reds revealed that they had parted company with Ronaldo.
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In a further statement, the club wrote: "Cristiano Ronaldo is to leave Manchester United by mutual agreement, with immediate effect. 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.
"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." Now that Ronaldo is a free agent, speculation is rising as to who will be the 37-year-old's next club.
According to bookmakers Sky Bet, Sporting are the favourites to sign Ronaldo. The club's president Frederico Varandas recently claimed that the forward had not been on their radar in the summer but that there was no attempts to block signing him either.
Chelsea are second favourites to become Ronaldo's next club. Owner Todd Boehly is thought to be keen on bringing the ex-United man to Stamford Bridge but Thomas Tuchel was reportedly unhappy with this mindset when he was in charge and Graham Potter is likely to be opposed to.
Here is the full list of potential clubs for Ronaldo according to the bookies:
Sporting Lisbon: 7/4
Chelsea: 9/4
Any MLS club: 4/1
Bayern Munich: 7/1
PSG: 8/1
Real Madrid: 9/1
Napoli: 14/1
Roma: 14/1
AC Milan: 18/1
Ajax: 20/1
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