The five-time Ballon d'Or winner enjoyed a triumphant return to Old Trafford in 2021, but things turned sour long before he left the club on Tuesday
Cristiano Ronaldo's time at Manchester United has come to an end for good. The 37-year-old's departure from Old Trafford was announced on Tuesday in the wake of a scathing interview in which he revealed his lack of respect for coach Erik ten Hag and spoke of feeling "betrayed" by the club.
The five-time Ballon d'Or winner returned for a second spell at the Premier League giants in the summer of 2021.
But after just one disappointing year which culminated in United's failure to qualify for the Champions League, Ronaldo made clear that he wanted to leave for a team competing in Europe's most prestigious club competition.
No deal came through in the summer transfer window, and instead he had to suffer on the bench for most of the first half of the 2022-23 campaign.
The Portugal star has finally been granted his wish, however, and leaves under a dark cloud, bringing an end to a partnership that was once so beautiful and fruitful but ends in bitterness and acrimony.
Here is the story of Ronaldo's second spell at the Red Devils…
GettyThe prodigal son returns!
The prospect of Ronaldo joining fierce rivals Manchester City late in the 2021 summer transfer window and then firing them to domestic and possibly European glory put the fear into the head honchos at Manchester United.
They jumped into action amid reports that their former star could soon be sporting the blue jersey of their city rivals and made sure to lure him back to Old Trafford.
United agreed to pay almost £13 million up front to Juventus and signed Ronaldo to a two-year contract with an option for a third.
And so it was. Over 12 years after he first departed for Real Madrid, the man who helped United to three Premier League titles and a Champions League crown was back.
AdvertisementGettySpectacular second debut
What a way to mark your return! Ronaldo grabbed all the headlines in his first game back for the Red Devils.
United had looked good in their first three matches of the season, but there was a feeling that Ronaldo would add some much-needed firepower to Ole Gunnar Solskjaer's team.
He appeared to prove that notion spot on when he struck in first-half stoppage time to give United a 1-0 lead against Newcastle in his first game back.
It may have been a tap-in but there was much more to come from the attacker, who came to his team's rescue just six minutes after Newcastle pulled level by restoring United's lead.
United went on to win 4-1 at Old Trafford, giving their fans belief that something magical could happen that season.
GettyA bittersweet Champions League return
Ronaldo also opened the scoring just a few days later as United began their Champions League campaign.
They were supposed to make easy work of a trip to Switzerland to take on Young Boys, and that seemed to be the case when Ronaldo broke the deadlock just 13 minutes in.
The home team fought back, though, and pulled level just before Ronaldo was substituted in the second half.
The former Real Madrid star could only watch on from the sidelines as Young Boys scored a late winner to upset his side and prove that there was still much to be done to get the Premier League side back on top of domestic and continental football.
GettyRonaldo stings Villarreal and Atalanta… TWICE
United recovered from their underwhelming start to the Champions League campaign and Ronaldo was at the heart of it.
Their second match in the tournament came against Villarreal and Solskjaer's team were shaky again as they fell behind.
Alex Telles pulled United level, though, and just as it seemed like the game was heading for a draw, Ronaldo popped up with a winner deep into injury time.
That was no one-off, though, as United found themselves 2-0 down at half-time in their following Champions League match – against Atalanta at Old Trafford.
Marcus Rashford and Harry Maguire brought them back on even terms before Ronaldo headed in another late goal to secure a 3-2 win.
That's not all!
They took on Atalanta again a couple of weeks later and yet another thriller ended with Ronaldo nipping in with a decisive goal in stoppage time to equalise for his side and earn a 2-2 draw.
And in the next game?
You guessed it! Ronaldo struck once more in the 78th minute to put United 1-0 up against Villarreal before Jadon Sancho added another in the dying minutes of the match to seal their qualification for the knockout stages.