By: Victor Olorunfemi

The situation at Manchester United with Cristiano Ronaldo has reached new lows. He no longer starts for the team as Ten Haag prefers more team-oriented forwards, and his request for a transfer over a month ago to a Champions League club has led to the humbling realization that no one really wants him, which leads me to my predicted solution, the release of Cristiano Ronaldo.

Welcome back to Far-Fetched Friday, where every Friday we give you a bold prediction that we believe will come to fruition. This Friday, we predict an unceremonious goodbye.

It may seem unlikely that Manchester United cancel the contract of a club legend, but upon further thought, that might be the only plausible solution.

For one, new manager Erik ten Hag is eager to make the team his own. To that, a massive personality like Cristiano Ronaldo stands in the way of that desire, especially when he does not want to be at the club.

Two, Ronaldo wants to leave, but no one wants to pay for him. We never thought it'd happen, but here we are. It seems teams are drawing a negative correlation with Ronaldo's presence on a team and its success, regardless of how many goals he scores. Just look at United. They finished second in 2020-21 with 74 points and a young team. They add Cristiano Ronaldo, he scores 18 goals, but they finish 6th with 58 points.

Lastly, you combine the two, and it's increasingly clear that the United team is better off without a 37 year old striker who is only interested in his individual accomplishments. The truth is United will have to rebuild to one day compete for league and champions league trophies again. Ronaldo's presence in that locker room has proven to be divisive and counterintuitive to team goals, United players and staff have seen it for a while, but most importantly, the fans see it now too.

Cristiano Ronaldo will be released by Manchester United before the end of the season.