Manchester United fans are once again furious with their club captain Harry Maguire. He apparently liked an Instagram post which claimed Cristiano Ronaldo would be receiving a steep wage cut.
The Manchester Evening News (reported via a SPORTbible Instagram post) claimed that Ronaldo is upset with the 25% wage cut all players have received. This is due to the fact that the Red Devils failed to qualify for the Champions League last season.
The post calculated that the legendary Portuguese attacker will see his £480,000 salary reduced to £360,000 per week.
The Athletic reported on Sunday, 3 July that Cristiano Ronaldo has told Manchester United to let him go if a suitable offer comes in for him. His desire to win more trophies along with United's perceived lack of ambition are cited as reasons for his impending departure.
Club captain Maguire liked the SPORTbible post, which enraged several fans. It gave them the impression that the 29-year-old wouldn't be too upset to see the back of the superstar striker.
Maguire has already attracted the ire of Manchester United supporters in recent years due to his poor performances on the pitch. Many feel the English centre-back should be sold by the club.
Here are some of the best Twitter reactions to the England defender's apparent approval of Cristiano Ronaldo's disgruntlement:
Former Liverpool midfielder believes Cristiano Ronaldo departure could suit Manchester United
Danny Murphy has claimed that Ronaldo's apparent desire to leave Old Trafford could be beneficial for all parties, especially incoming manager Erik ten Hag.
The player-turned-pundit told The Mirror:
"It could suit both parties in the end. There’s obviously lots of factors around that. How do they replace Ronaldo’s goals? Who do they bring in? That is the key. If they can get somebody who they feel is capable of filling that role if he was to leave then it would suit both."
He added:
“There is another factor in that of course, how does Ten Hag want to play? Does he want to press from the front and play high energy and high tempo? If he does, then of course, that’s not conducive to what Ronaldo wants to do because of his age and at his time of life, he wants to save his energy for making runs when they’ve got the ball and using his energy to score goals and win games. That’s also a factor."
The five-time Ballon d'Or winner scored 24 times in 38 appearances last term following his return to Old Trafford after 12 years. However, he has missed the first three days of pre-season training with the club unsure whether he will be a part of their pre-season tour to Thailand and Australia (as per Daily Mail).