The separation between Manchester United and Cristiano Ronaldo is imminent.
ESPN, an American sports media outlet, reported that, citing an official familiar with Manchester United's situation, "Man United are not accepting transfer fees for Ronaldo from this summer, but no team has been interested in signing Ronaldo."
Ronaldo, who played for Italian professional football Juventus and transferred to Manchester United ahead of the 2021-2022 season, has been engulfed in transfer rumors since July of this year.
He has a contract with Manchester United until June 2023, but has expressed his intention to leave Manchester United, saying he wants to play for a team that competes in the UEFA Champions League.
Since then, Ronaldo has been rumored to be transferred to Chelsea (England), Bayern Munich (Germany) and Atletico Madrid (Spain), but he has not been able to find a new team and remains at Manchester United so far.
However, it seems highly likely that Ronaldo will leave Manchester United in the January 2023 transfer window, with reports of a recent conflict with Manchester United manager Eric Tenhach and the club's position that he will be expelled from the team without a transfer fee.
Ronaldo guarded the bench in the match against Tottenham on the 20th, and entered the locker room first in the 45th minute before the game was over.
Tenhach removed Ronaldo from the squad for the match against Chelsea on the 23rd as a disciplinary measure for this behavior.
Ronaldo rejected the order to join as a substitute in the match against Tottenham Hotspur.
The reason why the team that will sign Ronaldo seldom appears even though Manchester United refuses to accept a transfer fee is because his annual salary of £500,000 a week (about 800 million won) is a huge burden.
Saudi Arabia's Al Hilal showed interest in signing Ronaldo, but failed to meet Ronaldo's justification for 'wanting to play in the UEFA Champions League'.
ESPN predicts that "if Ronaldo does a good job at the World Cup in November, he will have six months left on his contract with Manchester United and will be able to move Laura on loan to another team."
Ronaldo has scored two goals in a total of 12 matches this season, including one goal in eight Premier League matches and one in four UEFA Europa League matches.
Manchester United drew 1-1 against Chelsea on the 23rd, when Ronaldo was absent.
Chelsea Jorginho made it 1-0 with a penalty kick in the 42nd minute of the second half, but United recorded a 'victory draw' with a header from Casemiro in extra time in the second half.
However, Manchester United defender Rafael Varane was replaced with a knee injury in the second half of the match.
Coach Tenhach predicted that Baran could participate in the World Cup in November, saying, "You have to undergo a detailed examination to know the exact extent of the injury."
Manchester United are 5th out of 20 clubs with 6 wins, 2 draws and 3 losses.
(Photo = Getty Images Korea)