I'd love Cristiano Ronaldo to stay in the Premier League: Gary Neville

Former teammate Gary Neville has said he wants Cristiano Ronaldo to stay in the Premier League after Manchester United terminated the Portuguese forward's contract following his explosive interview.

Two days before Portugal's FIFA World Cup 2022 campaign got underway, United mutually agreed to end Ronaldo's contract after the player gave an explosive interview to Piers Morgan on Talk TV during which he criticised the team and Ten Hag.

Ronaldo claimed he felt "betrayed" by club members for attempting to force him out and claimed Ten Hag doesn't show him respect.

The 37-year-old is now a free agent and is open to receiving offers.

However, Saudi Arabia club Al Nassr has offered a lucrative £172m per season deal.

Meanwhile, the footballer-turned-pundit showed his desire to see him in the Premier League and start for whichever club he decides to join.

"I think that pressure of having him on the bench, and how the media is so big, he's so big with the fans, he's one of the great players to have ever played the game, that seeing him on the bench is almost like a magnet for trouble for the club he's playing for, because the focus becomes the player who's not on the pitch, rather than the players who are playing," Neville told the Sky Sports World Cup Podcast.

"At that point, you need to make sure it doesn't become a distraction. That's where it got to at United and it's where it got to with Portugal at the end. So, I think it's got to be a very careful decision made by the club and by Cristiano.

"I hope he finds happiness and a club that will get him into the team and getting him scoring the goals that we know he can score - he'll score 20 goals in 30 matches wherever he plays, maybe 20 goals in 20 matches, knowing him.

"I hope he can find a club in the major leagues, even the Premier League, I'd love him to stay in the Premier League at a club that can have him up front and we can watch him every week because that's what we want to see, we want to see him playing."

Portugal's FIFA World Cup run came to an end in the quarter-finals against Morocco by a score of 1-0, with Ronaldo coming on as a replacement in the second half to try and save the match for his nation.

He was replaced in the starting line-up for the 6-1 victory over Switzerland in the round of 16 by Goncalo Ramos, who scored a hat-trick and assisted on another.

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