Manchester United let Cristiano Ronaldo leave without a payoff, saving a reported $19 million in remaining wages. A month earlier, two of his former teammates were arguing over whether he should go. “Let me finish!” Roy Keane snapped as Gary Neville pushed for Ronaldo to leave. October 2022. Ronaldo had refused to come on against Tottenham and left before the final whistle. United won 2–0. Erik ten Hag dropped him for the next match. Neville backed the punishment. Keane agreed Ronaldo was wrong — but challenged how United were treating him. Weeks earlier, Ten Hag had kept Ronaldo on the bench against Manchester City, saying it was out of respect for his career. Against Tottenham, he wanted him on for the closing minutes. Keane didn’t think that added up. Then Neville argued United were better without Ronaldo. They scored more goals and won more points without him. His reputation couldn’t guarantee him a place. Keane pushed back. They had loved Ronaldo’s obsession with being the best when he arrived as a teenager. At 37, he still had it. In the video below, neither will let the other finish. Both accept he deserved punishment. They cannot agree on whether United still needed him. Weeks later, Ronaldo told Piers Morgan he felt betrayed by the club and had no respect for Ten Hag. On November 22, United announced his departure by mutual agreement. Sky Sports reported there was no payout. A year earlier, United had welcomed him back. Now they were saving millions by letting him leave.