What is Cristiano Ronaldo’s salary and contract situation with Manchester United?

Another week, another ‘Cristiano Ronaldo is unhappy at Manchester United’ story. This time, however, there are not only rumours, we’ve heard it from the horse’s mouth.

Clips have been doing the rounds on social media in the last few days from an explosive interview that the Portugal captain has done with British television personality Piers Morgan, which will be broadcast in full in the coming days.

If you’d like to know how you can watch it, we’ve got you covered right here.

Cristiano Ronaldo criticises Manchester United, Erik Tan Hag, Wayne Rooney and more

In the interview, Ronaldo is fiercely critical of Manchester United manager Erik Ten Hag and his coaching staff, who he claims have shown him a lack of respect, while he also cites his disappointment at the state of the club as a whole, claiming that nothing has changed in his 12 years away from Old Trafford in terms of “technology and infrastructure”.

Even former United teammate Wayne Rooney, who had opined that Ronaldo’s behaviour at the club this season had been ‘unacceptable’, doesn’t come out of it unscathed, with the former Real Madrid attacker firing back at England’s all-time leading goalscorer: “I don’t know why he criticises me so badly... probably because he finished his career and I’m still playing at a high level. And I’m not going to say that I’m looking better than him. Which is true...” Great stuff…

It’s safe to say that, after a reasonable first season back in Manchester, this term has not quite gone to plan for Ronaldo or United. Here’s a little summary of his ‘unacceptable behaviour’.

31 July – Ronaldo is substituted at half-time in the pre-season friendly against Rayo Vallecano and leaves Old Trafford before the match has finished.

16 October – The ex-Real Madrid man makes a rare league start at home to Newcastle and has two goals disallowed as the Red Devils toil to a goalless draw. To further compound his misery, Ten Hag hauls him off for Marcus Rashford after 72 minutes and Ronaldo is visibly not happy (to say the very least).

19 October – Ronaldo is back on the bench in the home game against Tottenham Hotspur, with Rashford preferred ahead of him. Asked to come on in the second half, he refuses and heads off down the tunnel before the final whistle.

That last misdemeanour proved to be a step too far for Ten Hag, who dished out a number of quick-fire punishments to an experienced player not living up to his tag as a role model. A hefty fine, forced to train alone and left out of the squad for the draw at Chelsea on the last weekend in October.

The Portuguese has since returned to the squad and the team and been back amongst the goals, while he even captained the side in the Red Devils’ game away to Aston Villa, which they lost 3-1. But Ronaldo’s words have made it crystal clear that his relationship with the club is a deeply troubled one and we can only assume that he’ll be on his way out the door sooner rather than later.

When does Cristiano Ronaldo’s Manchester United contract expire?

Ronaldo is contracted to Manchester United until June 2023. The club do have an option to extend his deal by a further year although that now seems highly unlikely. As of January, the Portuguese will be able to negotiate a move to another club next summer and could in theory leave for a reduced fee in the winter transfer window.

What is Cristiano Ronaldo’s Manchester United salary?

According to a report by the Daily Mail, Cristiano Ronaldo’s Manchester United contract is worth £385,000 ($457,200 approx.) per week. That works out at just over £20m ($23.76m) per year, not taking into account performance-related bonuses. This figure is thought to have been reduced by 25% after United failed to qualify for the 2022-23 Champions League, another reason for his unhappiness.

Could Manchester United terminate Cristiano Ronaldo’s contract?

According to football lawyer David Seligman, Ronaldo’s latest interview could come at a cost. He tweeted, “Man United would likely have ground to terminate Ronaldo’s contract – material breach of the implied duty of trust and confidence, as well as express terms regarding bringing the club into disrepute. FIFA rules/jurisprudence on player registrations are not all that simple. United could terminate the contract but retain player registration for the purposes of compensation if termination is caused by Ronaldo’s conduct.”

Ronaldo was linked with a move to a number of clubs in the summer transfer window, including Chelsea, Bayern Munich, Napoli and Atlético Madrid, although all decided against signing the legendary Portuguese striker.