Cristiano Ronaldo has been released by Manchester United, ending one of the most spectacular sagas in modern Premier League history.
From his remarkable return to his bombshell interview with Piers Morgan, Ronaldo’s time back in England has been filled with controversy, and now, it’s all over.
The Red Devils reportedly didn’t pay Ronaldo a penny when letting him go, and that move has freed up some serious cash at Old Trafford.
Indeed, with Ronaldo reportedly earning close to half a million pounds a week, United now have plenty of money to play with, and they’ll need a replacement.
In our view, there’s one obvious candidate to come in now that Ronaldo has gone – Cody Gakpo.
The Dutch forward, much like Ronaldo is a physically imposing, skilful player who can play either centrally or out wide, and he’s lighting up the Eredivisie this season.
United have had something of a monopoly when it comes to signing the Dutch League’s top talents in recent years with the likes of Donny van De Beek, Antony, Lisandro Martinez and Tyrell Malacia all ending up at Old Trafford, and now, it looks like Gakpo will make the same move.
United are interested, and Graeme Bailey summed the situation up well on the Talking Transfers Podcast last week.
“The Ronaldo situation will have a knock-on effect with Gakpo I think. He has the same representatives as Erik ten Hag, so everything points towards Gakpo and United. We know Arsenal have had a sniff around him recently, but I think if you’re a Leeds or Southampton fan, your chance has gone,” Bailey said.
Of course, that was before Ronaldo left United, and now that his release has been confirmed, it may just be a matter of time before the Gakpo move is finalised.
Arsenal have been keen, but with United freeing up so much cash and the fact that ten Hag’s agents are likely to push Gakpo towards United, it seems almost inevitable that the PSV star will be headed to Manchester in January.
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