Chelsea makes a U-turn on Cristiano Ronaldo, leaving Manchester United in a catch-22 on the star’s sacking
Chelsea is willing to sign Cristiano Ronaldo if Manchester United follows through with their plan to fire him.
After a disappointing start to the season under Todd Boehly’s ownership, the Blues are back in the running for Ronaldo. If United’s lawyers grant the club permission to release the former Sporting Lisbon, Real Madrid, and Juventus great, he will become a free agent.
That would render them unable of preventing his relocation to Stamford Bridge. United does not want Ronaldo to join a club that they see as a top-four rival, thus they are in a Catch-22 situation.
Following the 37-year-old Portuguese striker’s shocking rant against the club on television, the club is seeking legal counsel to determine if they can dismiss him.
Prior to Ronaldo’s appearance on Piers Morgan Uncensored last weekend, Manchester United’s position was that they would allow the five-time Ballon d’Or winner to leave Old Trafford in January, provided he did not join a Premier League opponent.
Prior to being eliminated from the Champions League, Sporting Lisbon had high hopes of enticing Ronaldo to rejoin them. This provided United with the appropriate solution to a problem that manager Erik ten Hag desired to resolve even before Ronaldo’s unauthorised interview.
Ronaldo’s criticisms have presented them with an issue they did not anticipate.
United desires to reduce Ronaldo’s £500,000-per-week salary they agreed to pay Ronaldo when he returned to Old Trafford in the summer of 2021.
There are also rumors that the Reds may sue Ronaldo on the grounds that his interview has tarnished the club’s brand and resulted in considerable financial losses.
Mike Treemer, Employment Partner at legal firm Fladgate, believes that Manchester United has a good case to fire Cristiano Ronaldo, but that a claim for damages is not as compelling.
He feels that any civil case brought to court will dwarf the so-called Wagatha Christie trial involving WAGs Coleen Rooney and Rebekah Vardy.
Treemer said: “Most legal commentators now agree that United would be entitled to terminate Ronaldo’s contract following his recent behaviours – including his provocative interview with Piers Morgan. However, few would have predicted that they would go further and allege that his conduct has caused the club financial loss that they are entitled to recover from him.
“Employers pursuing such claims against employees is very rare because it is usually very difficult to prove that a financial loss has been suffered and to directly link that loss to the employee’s actions. In most cases, the high legal costs to be incurred coupled with the employee’s likely inability to pay any substantial damages will deter employees considering such a claim.
“But Ronaldo clearly has the means to pay up if United were to be successful. It is likely that the club will also be considering if third parties have encouraged Ronaldo to breach his contractual obligations – in which case they can also be pursued for the loss suffered.
“No doubt that was considered carefully by Morgan and Talk TV before they broadcast the interview. If any claim is pursued, the media attention and publicity is likely to considerably overshadow that received by the Wagatha Christie trial earlier this year.”
Chelsea makes a U-turn on Cristiano Ronaldo, leaving Manchester United in a catch-22 on the star’s sacking
