Joel Glazer will make the final decision about Cristiano Ronaldo’s future at the club after the forward’s incendiary TV interview, according to sources close to the Manchester United co-owner.
Ronaldo’s position at United is considered untenable after saying in an interview that he felt “betrayed” and that the Glazer family do not care about the club. The 37-year-old forward also said he has no respect for the manager, Erik ten Hag, and singled out two former United teammates, Wayne Rooney and Gary Neville, after they criticised him.
But a person with knowledge of the situation told the Associated Press on Tuesday that Glazer will have the final say on any decision to sell the forward and it will be up to Ronaldo’s agent Jorge Mendes to present potential clubs willing to buy him.
The source also said United’s hierarchy has backed Ten Hag’s handling of the player and were fully supportive of his decision to drop Ronaldo from the squad and order him to train away from the first team after the Portugal star refused to come on as a substitute against Tottenham last month.
For the Premier League match against Fulham on Sunday, Ronaldo was left out of United’s squad for a second game in a row after the club said he had an unspecified illness. But he trained with Portugal’s national team on Tuesday as they began preparations for the World Cup in Qatar.
There was widespread speculation about Ronaldo leaving United even before the season started, but a potential exit is being complicated by the limited number of clubs that can afford to meet his reported salary of around £500,000 per week.
Ronaldo has six months remaining on his contract, and United’s lawyers are reviewing footage of his interview to determine the club’s legal position, the person with knowledge of the situation said.
In the excerpts of the interview that were released on Sunday evening, Ronaldo is heavily critical of Ten Hag, the owning Glazer family and the club in general. “I don’t have respect for [Ten Hag] because he doesn’t show respect for me,” Ronaldo told the interviewer Piers Morgan. “If you don’t have respect for me, I’m never going to have respect for you.”
United officials have yet to see the full interview and had no knowledge that it had been conducted before excerpts started to circulate on Sunday. “The club will consider its response after the full facts have been established,” United said.
“Our focus remains on preparing for the second half of the season and continuing the momentum, belief and togetherness being built among the players, manager, staff and fans.”
