Ronaldo netted a penalty in Portugal's win

Cristiano Ronaldo was awarded the Man of the Match trophy after Portugal's opening game of the World Cup, despite the fact that the decision to give him the award was just as questionable as his penalty. Despite this, Ronaldo did not do much to give Manchester United any reason to reconsider his departure.

In spite of the best efforts of goalkeeper Diogo Costa, who came dangerously close to pulling a Shay Given in the waning seconds of the match, Portugal was able to prevail over a spirited Ghana team and win 3-2. Ronaldo, as is customary, took the spotlight as much as anyone else did.

The crowd, which appeared to be at capacity (though the echoes and empty seats betrayed a much smaller attendance), was completely enamored by the former Manchester United player. Cheers were heard whenever his face was shown on the screen or whenever he touched the ball during the game. The 'Sui' that was heard after he scored may have knocked over a couple of the cargo containers that were located in the area.

He was destined to be the focal point of the narrative. Following the explosive conversation that Ronaldo had with Piers Morgan, Manchester United issued a brief statement earlier this week confirming that the player would be leaving the club. The total number of words in the statement was 67.

According to what was written, Cristiano Ronaldo would be leaving Manchester United "by mutual agreement, with immediate effect." "The club thanks him for his enormous contribution during his two stints at Old Trafford, during which he made 346 appearances and scored 145 goals. The club also sends its best wishes to him and his family for the future."

Everyone at Manchester United is committed to continuing the team's improvement under Erik ten Hag and working cooperatively to achieve success on the field.

It's hard to believe that such a storied career and illustrious history with the club could come to an end with just three short paragraphs, but if anything, it was more than what Ronaldo deserved after his scorched earth approach, especially after showing such massive disrespect to Erik ten Hag. It's hard to believe that such a legendary career and illustrious history with the club could come to an end.

The club actually behaved like a club for a change. It did not put up with such flagrant disobedience, supported their management, and arrived at the correct conclusion. However, it cannot be denied that it puts United in a difficult position given the fact that they have no other options up front. They were already undermanned before Ronaldo joined the team, and now they can only count on Marcus Rashford and the always injured Anthony Martial for support. Despite John Murtough's repeated assertions to the contrary, it seems inevitable that the club will make at least one or two moves in the January transfer market in order to strengthen its roster.

In light of the fact that a return to the top four is by no means a certainty under these circumstances, it might be natural for some supporters to experience feelings of panic. To inquire about whether or not the club appeared a little bit too eager to bring Ronaldo's time at Old Trafford to a close. The obvious response is that this is not the case. The fact that Ronaldo won and scored a penalty for the opening goal and then played a key part in the second goal in the first game since the departure could, however, intensify those feelings for some people. Ronaldo won and scored the penalty for the opening goal.

But doing so would mean ignoring the pattern that has emerged throughout the rest of the game. It was a smart move by Ronaldo to get in front of Mohammed Salisu, but the penalty was questionable at best and an obvious dive that should have been overturned at worst. Ronaldo did well to get in front of Salisu. It doesn't change the fact that in the first half he missed two easy chances that he would have easily converted just one year ago. He scored it with the customary inevitability that he always does, but that doesn't change the fact that it was inevitable that he would.

Even though Ronaldo played a key role in Joao Felix's goal, the Portuguese forward's overall link-up play was nonexistent. With just 15, he completed fewer passes than any other starter for Portugal (including the goalkeeper), and he consistently squandered the ball in positions where it would have been advantageous. That aspect of No.7's game simply could not be reconciled with what Ten Hag is working to establish as his dominance in the game.

In point of fact, Bruno Fernandes was the one who was much more impressive with a slick and all-action performance in which he moved the ball around nicely and set up two goals with incisive through balls. He also scored a goal himself. The garish Budweiser trophy ought to have been bestowed upon him instead of anyone else.

Even though Ronaldo may once again dominate the headlines, Manchester United can sleep easy knowing that he did nothing to make the club's decision to let him go regrettable.