"I felt awful" - Valencia says Cristiano Ronaldo's Manchester United exit was 'too bad' and he should have left with applause in a 'sold-out stadium'

Former Manchester United defender Antonio Valencia has expressed his sympathy for Cristiano Ronaldo following his premature Old Trafford exit.

Having won five Ballon d'Or awards among many other trophies, Cristiano Ronaldo is one of the greatest players of this generation. However, things have not been going according to plan for him in recent months.

Ronaldo was notably relegated to the bench for Portugal's knockout matches at the 2022 FIFA World Cup before being eliminated. He now faces the risk of watching his arch-nemesis Lionel Messi lift the trophy with Argentina.

The 37-year-old also had his contract with Manchester United terminated just two days before Portugal's World Cup opener against Ghana. The decision came on the back of his controversial interview with British broadcaster Piers Morgan.

The interview, as well as Ronaldo's behavior in recent months, saw the player once hailed as a hero turn a villain among the vast majority of Red Devils fans. He thus left the club months before his deal was due to expire.

Valencia has now expressed his regret at how things ended for Cristiano Ronaldo at Old Trafford. The former Manchester United full-back believes the Portuguese icon should have received a good send-off. He wrote in his The Athletic column:

"It was too bad Cristiano Ronaldo left Manchester United in the way he did. A player like him should leave a club by walking off the pitch to applause at a sold-out stadium. The people there loved him."

Valencia admitted that Ronaldo's departure hurt him and went on to wish him luck. He added:

"The interview he gave recently was unfortunate. He’ll have his reasons for saying what he did, but I felt awful about the way he left the club. It hurt. I hope everything goes well for him at his new club. I wish Ronaldo nothing but the best."

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Did Cristiano Ronaldo play with Valencia at Manchester United?

Cristiano Ronaldo plied his trade for Manchester United for seven years in two spells. Valencia, on the other hand, was on the Red Devils' books for a total of 10 years, but did not play with the five-time Ballon d'Or winner.

The Ecuadorian notably joined the Premier League giants from Wigan Athletic in the summer of 2009. Meanwhile, Ronaldo left Old Trafford for La Liga club Real Madrid the same year.

Valencia nevertheless sympathizes with the former Juventus superstar, who is now without a club. It remains to be seen where the forward's future lies.