The Cristiano Ronaldo saga at Manchester United is finally over. The forward's bombshell interview with Piers Morgan always looked likely to hasten his departure from Old Trafford, an event which came to pass on Tuesday.
In a wide-ranging conversation, Ronaldo told Morgan he had been "betrayed" by senior figures at United and, perhaps most shockingly of all, that he had no respect for manager Erik ten Hag.
Asked if he felt he was being forced out of United, Ronaldo said: "Yes, not only by the coach, but by another two or three guys around the club that I felt betrayed me.
"I shouldn't say that [they were trying to get rid of me], I don't know, but yes, I feel betrayed. I felt that some people didn't want me here not only this year, but last year too."
If Ronaldo's exit was truly desired by the United hierarchy, they got their wish when the mutual termination of his contract was announced on Tuesday.
How did it get to this point? Let's look back at Ronaldo's tumultuous second spell with the club with whom he made his name.
August 27, 2021: United announce an agreement with Juventus to bring Ronaldo back to Old Trafford, reportedly beating Manchester City to the five-time Ballon d'Or winner's signature. On August 31, a two-year deal with an option for a third season is completed.
September 11, 2021: His second debut sees Ronaldo face Newcastle United at home, and he marks it in style with a brace in a 4-1 win.
September 29, 2021: Champions League history for Ronaldo as he breaks the record for the most appearances (178) in the competition and fittingly scores a last-gasp winner as United beat Villarreal 2-1.
November 21, 2021: Ronaldo continued to score important goals for United in the Champions League, however, a 5-0 home defeat to Liverpool and a 2-0 loss to City piled the pressure on boss Ole Gunnar Solskjaer. After a 4-1 loss at Watford, the man who brought Ronaldo back to the club is sacked.
November 29, 2021: Ralf Rangnick is appointed as United's interim manager until the end of the season, with the club planning to keep him on for two years in a consultancy role.
Ronaldo said of Rangnick in his recent interview: "They bring in a sporting director Ralf Rangnick, which is something nobody understands. This guy is not even a coach! A big club like Manchester United bringing in a sporting director surprised not only me but all the world."
December 2, 2021: In Michael Carrick's final game as caretaker manager before Rangnick officially took charge, Ronaldo scored twice in a 3-2 win over Arsenal, netting his 800th and 801st goals in his career for club and country.
February 15, 2022: A goal in a 2-0 win over Brighton and Hove Albion ends the longest drought of Ronaldo's career, one that stretched back to a December 30 defeat of Burnley and took in 588 minutes of football.
March 12, 2022: Having missed the Manchester derby because of a hamstring injury, Ronaldo scores a hat-trick on his return in a 3-2 win over Tottenham. The treble takes him to 807 goals, past Josef Bican's all-time record of 805. However, the Czech Republic FA claims Bican actually scored 821.
April 16-23, 2022: A hat-trick against Norwich City marks the 50th treble of Ronaldo's career, and he follows that up a week later with his 100th Premier League goal in a loss to Arsenal, which represented an emotional game for the Portugal international after he and his partner announced the death of their baby son.
April 21, 2022: Erik ten Hag is appointed as United's new manager from the 2022-23 season. On May 16, the Dutchman leaves his role at Ajax early to begin preparations for his new job.
May 22, 2022: United's 2021-22 season ends with the Red Devils in sixth, forcing them to settle for Europa League football. Ronaldo does not feature in their 1-0 loss at Crystal Palace, which rounds off a campaign in which he scored 24 goals but never meshed with Rangnick and his style of football.
July 11, 2022: Despite intense speculation around Ronaldo and agent Jorge Mendes trying to force a transfer away from United, Ten Hag insists Ronaldo is "not for sale".
July 31, 2022: Ronaldo leaves early during United's pre-season friendly with Rayo Vallecano, along with some other team-mates. Ten Hag slams that decision as "not acceptable".
October 2, 2022: Ronaldo is left on the bench in the 6-3 loss to City, a game in which United trailed 4-0 at half-time. Ten Hag claims the decision was down to his "respect" for Ronaldo’s career.
October 19, 2022: Having refused to enter the game as a substitute, Ronaldo walks down the tunnel during United's 2-0 win over Tottenham. He is suspended by the club three days later.
November 13, 2022: After missing United's EFL Cup clash with Aston Villa due to an apparent illness, Ronaldo is again absent from their squad for the final game before the World Cup break, a 2-1 win at Fulham. Later that day, the first clips from his bombshell interview are released.
November 16-17, 2022: Ronaldo's interview for Piers Morgan uncensored is aired across two days. Alongside his criticism of Ten Hag, Ronaldo declares United's owners the Glazer family "do not care" about the club, hits out at the team's younger players, and says former team-mate-turned-critic Wayne Rooney is jealous of his success.
Former United defender Gary Neville calls for the Red Devils to terminate Ronaldo's contract in the aftermath of his comments.
November 18, 2022: United commit to taking "appropriate steps" in response to Ronaldo's comments, intensifying speculation they could end his stay with the club.
November 21, 2022: As Ronaldo prepares for his fifth World Cup campaign with Portugal, he fields questions about his controversial interview for the first time.
"I don't have to worry what others think. I talk when I want to," Ronaldo told reporters, before describing himself as "bulletproof".
November 22, 2022: Two days before Portugal begin their World Cup campaign against Ghana, United announce Ronaldo is to leave the club with "immediate effect".
"Everyone at Manchester United remains focused on continuing the team's progress under Erik ten Hag and working together to deliver success on the pitch," read a statement from the club.
Outgoing Brighton boss De Zerbi not walking into new job
Roberto De Zerbi insisted he does not have another job lined up after overseeing his final game as Brighton and Hove Albion boss on Sunday.
One day after surprisingly announcing De Zerbi's departure, Brighton ended their Premier League campaign with a 2-0 home loss to Manchester United.
That meant they slipped below rivals Crystal Palace to finish 11th in the table, their first bottom-half placing since finishing 16th in 2020-21.
De Zerbi has been linked with several big clubs since leading Brighton to European qualification last season, with Bayern Munich, Milan and Napoli touted as possible landing spots for the former Sassuolo and Shakhtar Donetsk coach.
However, De Zerbi says he has not reached an agreement with any other club, telling reporters: "There isn't any club – no-one offered me anything. At the moment, nothing.
"I hope to work in the Premier League again. I don't know where or when, but it was an honour to work in the Premier League."
Sunday's defeat was De Zerbi's 70th Premier League game in charge of Brighton, with his top-flight win percentage of 37 per cent (26/70) the highest of any boss in the Seagulls' history.
Battling a lengthy injury list for much of 2023-24, Brighton made a total of 143 changes to their starting lineup throughout the course of the campaign, with only Manchester City in 2019-20 (144) ever making more in a single Premier League season.
Asked by BBC Match of the Day if there was a particular reason for his exit, the Italian added: "We didn't find the agreement to move on. I want to keep my way.
"I know very well what I want to do and I know I am a coach and I have to accept the policies of the club.
"They gave me an incredible chance. They gave me the possibility to know incredible people, to play and to work in the Premier League, to play in the Europa League. They gave me the opportunity to know this club, this city, these fans and that I cannot forget."
Ipswich Town boss Kieran McKenna and Nice coach Francesco Farioli have both been tipped as possible contenders to replace De Zerbi, with Brighton having a reputation for excellent succession planning under owner Tony Bloom.
Asked about the search for a replacement on Sunday, Bloom said: "We always try and have a plan. We have got a plan. We now need to execute that plan."
Ten Hag concedes Man Utd's Premier League finish 'not good enough by far'
Erik ten Hag conceded Manchester United's season was "not good enough by far" after the Red Devils recorded their lowest Premier League finish in eighth place.
United concluded their campaign with a 2-0 victory over Brighton and Hove Albion, with second-half goals from Diogo Dalot and Rasmus Hojlund sealing the points at the American Express Stadium.
Nevertheless, Ten Hag's side finished three points behind sixth-placed Chelsea and will subsequently miss out on European football for the first time in 10 years, unless they beat Manchester City in next week's FA Cup final.
And the Dutchman, who insisted his players "will fight for the cup" at Wembley, pulled no punches in his assessment of United's season.
"It is not good enough by far," he told Match of the Day. "Although we had less than 60 points two years ago [58 points in 2021-22], eighth is the worst performance. We should have done better.
"We know the reasons behind it, but it is not the right moment to go into it. It’s not good enough."
On the win over Brighton, he added: "The first half was too static. We changed something at half-time, and after that we had more control.
"We had a lot of problems defending Joao Pedro in the first half, but then we had more control, and we were better on the ball. In the end, the win is OK."
Brighton 0-2 Manchester United: Ten Hag's men need FA Cup win to reach Europe
Manchester United will need to win the FA Cup to qualify for Europe after they finished eighth in the Premier League despite winning 2-0 at Brighton on the final day.
Diogo Dalot scored against the run of play and substitute Rasmus Hojlund added a late clincher to give United consecutive wins to end their top-flight campaign before they face rivals Manchester City at Wembley.
But the Red Devils had to better Newcastle's result on Sunday to finish seventh and Eddie Howe's men won an entertaining match 4-2 against Brentford.
Joao Pedro twice came close to scoring for Brighton, who had most of the better chances, but defeat in Roberto De Zerbi's final game left the hosts 11th in the table, pipped to a top-half finish by Crystal Palace.
Brighton were more threatening in the early stages and they should have been ahead when Carlos Baleba found Valentin Barco in a dangerous position in the box. The Argentine easily got past Aaron Wan-Bissaka as he drove towards goal, but sent his shot too close to Andre Onana, with the United keeper making a key save.
Adam Webster was posing a regular aerial threat, heading two chances wide and then seeing a more threatening goal-bound effort blocked by Lisandro Martinez, making his first start since early February for United.
The visitors' only big chance of the first half came from a swift counterattack as Bruno Fernandes found Scott McTominay in a promising position, but the Scotland midfielder could only blaze over after taking a heavy first touch.
At other end, Joao Pedro powered past Diogo Dalot in the United box, only to drag his shot wide when he seemed destined to score, leaving fans at the Amex Stadium wondering how the half had ended goalless.
There were similar feelings after the break when Casemiro somehow cleared off the line from Joao Pedro after the striker had been found by Jakub Moder and beaten Onana with his close-range attempt.
But it was United who made the decisive breakthrough 17 minutes from time, as Casemiro's long ball caught out the home defence and full-back Dalot, who had found himself in an advanced position, raced through to score with a powerful finish.
Hojlund made sure of the points after 88 minutes. The Brighton defence backed away from him as he made a purposeful run into the box after exchanging passes with Christian Eriksen and the Denmark forward then found the net with a crisp right-footed finish.
De Zerbi leaves Brighton with a defeat
This was the last match for De Zerbi as Brighton manager after his departure was confirmed in the lead up to the game earlier this week.
De Zerbi led Brighton to a brilliant sixth-place finish in his first season, and while his second campaign ultimately did not match those heights, narrowly missing out on a top-10 spot and securing a last-16 berth in the Europa League still represents a creditable outcome.
There will, however, be frustration that Brighton did not secure a winning send-off, with United's late goals coming somewhat out of the blue, with the hosts always looking the more likely team to strike first and racking up 17 total attempts, although only three were on target.
As well as saying goodbye to De Zerbi, there was also a huge reception given to Adam Lallana when he was substituted early in the second half. The midfielder was emotional as he left the field after spending four seasons at the Amex.
Brighton had won their last four Premier League games against United – but ultimately fell short of becoming the first team to beat the Red Devils in five consecutive league games since Norwich City achieved the feat between 1988 and 1990.
United need cup glory after lowest Premier League finish
While wins over Newcastle and Brighton saw Man Utd finish the season reasonably strongly, eighth place still represents their lowest final position in the Premier League.
If they defeat Man City in the FA Cup final, United will play in the Europa League season, but failure to do so would see them miss out on continental football entirely.
Newcastle were three goals up in their game during the first half at a time when United were struggling to repel Brighton, which perhaps explained why Ten Hag felt comfortable taking Fernandes and Martinez off around the hour mark when the match was still level.
Raphael Varane also got a runout late on, making his last Premier League appearance for United, which was a positive sign ahead of the final.
As for Hojlund, his late goal meant he reached double figures in his first Premier League season, having also netted against Newcastle on Wednesday.
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