“Player registrations are not all that simple” – Lawyer claims Manchester United can terminate Cristiano Ronaldo’s contract and prevent him joining new club

Manchester United forward Cristiano Ronaldo opened up in a tell-all interview with Piers Morgan about his unhappiness at Old Trafford. The shocking interview has seen football lawyer David Seligman make the claim that United can terminate Ronaldo's contract while preventing him from joining another club.

Taking to his Twitter account to share his views, Seligman explained:

"After that interview, Man United would likely have grounds to terminate Ronaldo’s contract - material breach of the implied duty of trust and confidence as well as express terms regarding bringing club into disrepute.

"Manchester United could probably withhold agents payments too. Agents [are] paid for ‘further services’ to maintain a stable relationship between club and player….i.e. the opposite of what this interview appears to be!

"FIFA rules/jurisprudence on player registrations are not all that simple. Man United could terminate contract but retain registration for purposes of compensation, if termination [is] caused by Cristiano Ronaldo's conduct. Ronaldo's legal position [is] very interesting now."

This will not be the first time Cristiano Ronaldo will get into trouble with the higher-ups at Carrington. Back in October, he stormed out of Old Trafford during a game against Tottenham Hotspur after refusing to come on as a substitute.

The club went ahead and punished the 37-year-old, leaving him out of the matchday squad for their following game against Chelsea. However, Ronaldo was back in the squad for the following games and has played more consistently since then. He even donned the captain's armband against Aston Villa.

Only a week after his captainship, however, Cristiano Ronaldo slammed the Manchester United hierarchy in his Piers Morgan interview. The Portuguese forward noted that Erik ten Hag did not have respect for him, and the feeling was mutual. He also noted that he was being forced out of the club and that he was not shown sympathy during pre-season when his daughter was ill.

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Manchester United have the World Cup break to determine Cristiano Ronaldo situation

The World Cup break will perhaps save the Red Devils from being forced into making a decision about how to deal with Ronaldo's interview immediately. The Portugal captain will head to Qatar with the rest of the Selecao as he works towards winning the World Cup for the first time.

With the transfer window set to open as the World Cup reaches its zenith, Ronaldo may be on his way out of Old Trafford. However, the forward's future is currently very uncertain.