Cristiano Ronaldo has been caught in a difficult position. Following his explosive interview with Piers Morgan where he criticized Manchester United and their manager Erik ten Hag as well as take jibes at several former United stars, the club is now officially considering releasing him from his contract.

The discontentment between United and Ronaldo is hardly new and had been building up for weeks and months.

The Portuguese superstar spent the entire summer transfer window looking for a different club to join after falling out of favor with incumbent manager Ten Hag. However, Ronaldo, now 37-year-old, and with his best years well behind him, failed to attract suitors.

One club that was interested in him, however, was Chelsea but manager Thomas Tuchel dissuaded the club from signing him for the reason that he would destabilize the dressing room. With Tuchel no longer at Stamford Bridge, and with Graham Potter, owner Todd Boehly has re-activated his interest in signing Ronaldo and is following the situation at Manchester United closely.

The Red Devils are currently taking legal advice from their lawyers on whether they can legally sack and terminate his contract without paying off the rest of his salary for disrespecting the club. They see it as a clear violation of his contract and sacking him would allow the five-time Ballon d’Or winner to join any club he sees fit in January.

Ronaldo’s criticisms have given them a problem they didn’t foresee. United want to save on the £500,000-a–week wages they agreed to pay Ronaldo when he returned to Old Trafford in the summer of 2021.

There are also suggestions that the Reds could end up launching a lawsuit against Ronaldo by deeming that his interview has damaged and tarnished the club’s reputation and has even caused significant financial loss.

However, United is also caught in a bit of a bother at the moment regarding the situation. Allowing Ronaldo to leave to join Chelsea would mean strengthening a direct rival and of course, both United and Chelsea are involved in the battle for the top four spots in the Premier League this season as well.

As things stand, United are fifth in the table and has 26 points from 14 games. Meanwhile, Chelsea are eighth with 21 points.