Cristiano Ronaldo‘s departure from Manchester United was the bombshell which hit the club before the World Cup.
Now with the tournament over and Ronaldo described as one of the biggest flops in Qatar by Lothar Matthaus, United are able to move on.
Ronaldo will have a tougher time with that than United, who are set up well for the future under new manager Erik ten Hag, and the five permanent signings this summer.
But that does not mean Ronaldo’s exit was a time to savour for the club at all, it was an unfortunate episode with the forward leaving a sour taste on his second spell at Old Trafford.
Antonio Valencia bemoans Ronaldo exit
This was the second time Cristiano Ronaldo had left Old Trafford. His exit in 2009 was far more gracious, with the club receiving £80 million from Real Madrid.
The problem for Manchester United back then was that the club did not invest it as supporters wanted.
Ronaldo’s replacement ended up being Antonio Valencia, signed from Wigan Athletic.
Valencia ended up being a model professional who went on to captain the club, converting to right-back. He just wasn’t the glamour name fans envisioned at the time.
The former Ecuador international told The Athletic he was upset by Ronaldo’s departure from Manchester United a month ago.
He said: “It was too bad Cristiano Ronaldo left Manchester United in the way he did. A player like him should leave a club by walking off the pitch to applause at a sold-out stadium.
“The people there loved him. The interview he gave recently was unfortunate.
“He’ll have his reasons for saying what he did, but I felt awful about the way he left the club. It hurt.
“I hope everything goes well for him at his new club. I wish Ronaldo nothing but the best.”
Ronaldo’s next move is unclear, although BBC Sport did report recently he was training with former club Real Madrid. He is currently a free agent.
United meanwhile are moving on, taking on Burnley in the Carabao Cup later this week.
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