Rio Ferdinand makes interesting claim on Cristiano Ronaldo's Manchester United departure

Former Manchester United defender Rio Ferdinand believes Cristiano Ronaldo's departure from the club is 'best for both parties.'

The Portugal captain's tumultuous second spell at Old Trafford has finally come to an end following a dramatic fallout between the club and the player. After 12 years away from Manchester United, he rejoined the club last summer from Juventus. He enjoyed an excellent first season back, scoring 24 goals in 38 games across competitions.

However, his second campaign has been a disaster, scoring just three times in 16 appearances. The legendary forward made it clear in the summer that he wanted to leave the Red Devils (via The Times).

Ronaldo stayed, but his time was marred by a lack of starts. It led to him storming down the tunnel before full-time during their home win over Tottenham Hotspur.

The forward burned his bridges with the club during an extraordinary interview with Piers Morgan, where he criticized the club and manager Ten Hag.

Manchester United announced on Tuesday, November 22 that Ronaldo would be leaving the club by mutual consent with immediate effect. Ferdinand, who enjoyed great success alongside the five-time Ballon d'Or winner at the club, gave an interesting response to the huge news as he tweeted:

"Just seen the Cristiano news… best for both parties!"

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Rio Ferdinand predicts Cristiano Ronaldo's next move following Manchester United departure

Speaking on the BBC's coverage of the FIFA World Cup, Ferdinand emphasized that he thinks it's best for all that Ronaldo has left the club. However, when asked where he thinks his former teammate will end up, the former England defender appeared unsure as he stated (as per The Mirror):

“I don’t know. We were talking about it here, I think it depends what the motivation is. Is it Champions League money? Is it just to continue playing somewhere with a nice climate? This will be going on behind the scenes but we’ll find out I’m sure in due course.”

Ferdinand also proclaimed:

“I think both parties will be delighted now. He obviously did that interview with the mindset that he wanted to get out of the football club. [He] wasn’t happy, made it very clear, but I also think Erik ten Hag has got what he wanted as well in this situation. Both parties are happy, move on, next chapter for Cristiano Ronaldo.”