Manchester United must fire Cristiano Ronaldo in the next few days, says Reds icon Gary Neville

Gary Neville has insisted there is ‘no doubt’ that Manchester United must ax Cristiano Ronaldo in the coming days.

The Portuguese star gave an extremely recent interview with Piers Morgan, which saw the club’s board, owners, manager Erik ten Hag and his own teammates in a shocking and emotional outburst.

And Neville said the Red Devils must terminate 37-year-old striker Ronaldo’s contract at short notice – or set a dangerous precedent for any player to criticize the club without repercussions – while adding there is no turning back for him.

He said, ‘No, and I don’t think he wants a way back. He wouldn’t have done this interview if he wanted a way back. This interview was one he knew would make headlines and mark the end of his Manchester United career.

“I wonder what Manchester United are doing because the reality is they know they have to terminate Cristiano’s contract otherwise they are basically setting a precedent that any player can criticize them in the future.

“I agree with some of the things Cristiano has said and many Manchester United fans will agree with many of the things Cristiano has said, but if you are an employee and you say those things then your employment should end. “

Manchester United must undoubtedly do that in the coming days. Cristiano probably wants that too. Both (player and club) have driven themselves into a corner.’

Sports mail reported on Thursday that Manchester United are waiting for Cristiano Ronaldo’s full interview to be broadcast before making a decision on the runaway player’s future.

Sportsmail’s Chris Wheeler exclusively revealed on Monday that United are exploring ways to fire Ronaldo after the first clips emerged of his explosive sit-down with Piers Morgan.

In the interview, the second half of which will air on Thursday night, Ronaldo claimed he had been “betrayed” by United, said he had no respect for manager Erik ten Hag and criticized the club and his teammates.

United’s lawyers are carefully studying Ronaldo’s comments to determine whether they constitute a breach of contract, but will not decide on their next move until they have seen the entire interview.

But Sports mail understands that the club believes that fining Ronaldo, and apologizing for his actions, will not be enough this time given the feeling that this situation is much more serious than his previous offenses.

United will sack him next summer or cancel his contract at Old Trafford if they can. They don’t want to pay off Ronaldo because they don’t want to reward infidelity.

They hope a mutual agreement can be reached with the 37-year-old, who told the club he wanted to leave in the summer transfer window.

Ronaldo’s return to Old Trafford is seen as the least likely scenario and his United teammates are hoping he will be gone before the end of the World Cup.

They believe he has burned all his bridges with the side after his inflammatory comments and feel it would be better if United found a way to relieve Ronaldo while he is at the World Cup with Portugal.

The mood at Old Trafford was already one of consternation and frustration after Ronaldo poked fun at the club and manager in clips first aired on Sunday.

That will not have improved after the first episode of the interview aired on Wednesday night, in which he criticized the attitude of United’s young players and said only his Portuguese team-mate Diogo Dalot is destined for a long career at the top.

Ronaldo’s outspoken views on Ten Hag will be broadcast in part two of the interview on Thursday night, but his teammates believe he betrayed Ten Hag and the club, not the other way around, as he claims.