Cristiano Ronaldo's future at Manchester United is looking increasingly untenable and Gary Neville has an ideal solution - but can the club utilise it?
It became clear that Ronaldo wasn't long for United under Erik ten Hag before a ball was even kicked in his reign. It didn't take an expert to look at the Dutchman's ideal style of football compared to what the one-time best player in the world is now capable of doing on the pitch to see they would be unlikely to coexist.
Ronaldo may have even seen it himself. The Portuguese disruptively made it clear he wanted to leave the club just before they were set to embark on a pre-season tour. It's understood that a lack of Champions League football, slow progress in the transfer market and a 25 per cent pay cut were the main reasons fuelling his desire but maybe he already knew he wouldn't be playing regularly, which is something he can just not abide.
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More disruption came with the early exit from the Rayo Vallecano friendly and, just when things looked to be heading in the right direction with his fine goal against Everton, they instead completely unravelled. He refused to come on against Tottenham and then left the dugout before the final whistle.
Ten Hag handled the situation with grace and a strong hand, not backing down but not criticising the player - as he deserved - even if countless pundits have labelled him as disrespectful anyway. They may have swooned like a cartoon maiden at the sight of a mouse had Ten Hag had a reaction similar to that of Roberto Mancini when Carlos Tevez pulled the same stunt on him.
Even for Tevez - who fled to Argentina for months in the aftermath of his refusal to come on for a game - there was a way back into the side. It could be the same for Ronaldo but it's difficult to see. The incidents of discontent have been several now, growing in their seriousness with each.
The best solution for all parties appears to be a swift and polite exit in January. Neville believes Ronaldo should be allowed to have his contract cancelled, it'll be much easier for him to find a new club that way after his inability to do so in the summer.
Speaking on his podcast, he said: “The best thing for him to do this week is to go in and see Richard Arnold, John Murtough, Erik ten Hag, call a meeting and say ‘my time’s up here. Let me go to the World Cup, let me leave in January and choose a club of my choice.’
“We don’t want this messy ending to something that could be so great, which is Ronaldo ’s relationship and feeling about the club and vice versa. I get Cristiano’s point as well but there’s a way to go about it. He needs to end it now, for both parties. It can’t go beyond January 1.”
That does appear to be the best solution. Ronaldo leaves with his legendary status not quite in tatters, free to play for whichever club he can get, while Ten Hag will be rid of a disruptive presence in the dressing room. There's just one problem: United have a dire lack of strikers.
It would all be well and good for United to just allow Ronaldo to leave but it seems too simple. Almost naive. The fact is United have just three strikers in their ranks. The ageing and ill-suited Ronaldo, the constantly-injured Anthony Martial and the bright but still inconsistent Marcus Rashford. It's hardly the most well-stocked arsenal as it is and taking another weapon away could be costly.
United can only allow Ronaldo to leave if they can find a suitable replacement in January. John Murtough has already gone on the record to state that United will not be splashing the cash in the new year and if that's the case then finding a quality, or even decent, forward in the winter window is going to be difficult. You only need to look at the Odion Ighalo singing to remember just how slim the pickings can be.
For all of Ronaldo's faults he remains a great option to have and, just like he did at Goodison, can grab crucial goals. Perhaps the benefit of an exit would outweigh the negatives of a lack of options but it would be an awfully risky move without reinforcements.
It's not like United need to go out and splash £100million, so perhaps enough funds can be scraped together for a new striker and then a Ronaldo exit could be considered. If not, then it might be a tougher move for the club to justify.
Either way, the story is bound to rumble on beyond January 1.
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