Just hours on from Alejandro Garnacho's winning goal for Manchester United against Fulham, details of Cristiano Ronaldo's explosive interview with Piers Morgan were made public.
Monday's headlines should have been about Garnacho, who further demonstrated his incredible potential with a brilliant goal off the bench at Craven Cottage, which handed the 20-time English champions a vital three points in the Premier League ahead of the break for the World Cup.
Ronaldo was not present in West London, nor against Aston Villa in the EFL Cup on Thursday evening, due to an illness. Whether or not he was genuinely unwell or had always decided not to play ahead of the World Cup is a question that only he can answer, but in the grand scheme of things, it matters little.
The 37-year-old is now fully focused on the upcoming World Cup, preparing to lead Portugal into their competition opener against Ghana on November 24. There is a pre-tournament clash against Nigeria on Thursday, meanwhile, and it is likely that the number seven will play some part in that contest.
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Between now and next month, Ronaldo is fully in World Cup and international mode - what date in December exactly depends on how far Portugal progress, but it would be a surprise if they failed to make it through the group stage.
The round of 16 is then scheduled for December 3-6, before the quarter-finals on December 9 and December 10; the first semi-final will then be on December 13 before the second takes place a day later, with the final on December 18, and it would be some story if Ronaldo managed to lead a talented Portuguese side to World Cup success.
But what of his future at Man United? Where do both parties go from here? The timing of Ronaldo's interview was not a surprise - there will be no awkward looks at the training ground for the rest of the week, while Red Devils boss Erik ten Hag will not have to decide whether to leave him out in the coming weeks.
Following his refusal to enter the field as a late substitute against Tottenham Hotspur on October 19, Ronaldo was suspended by Man United for the clash with Chelsea three days later.
Ronaldo and Ten Hag held clear-the-air talks shortly after, and the forward was back in the side and indeed back on the scoresheet against Sheriff Tiraspol in the Europa League on October 27.
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Ironically, Ronaldo has played a lot of football in recent weeks, largely due to the absence of Anthony Martial, while Jadon Sancho and Antony have also recently been on the sidelines. Indeed, Ronaldo played the full 90 minutes in Man United's last two group matches in the Europa League, and he again played full games against West Ham United and Aston Villa in the Premier League.
Ronaldo was even handed the armband by Ten Hag for the 3-1 loss to Villa in the league on November 6, which is likely to go down as his last ever game for the 20-time English champions.
In his interview with Morgan on TalkTV, which will be shown in full over Wednesday and Thursday night, the Portuguese said that he 'doesn't have respect' for Ten Hag because the Dutchman has 'not shown respect for him'.
Ronaldo also criticised interim head coach Ralf Rangnick, in addition to the club's all-time leading goalscorer Wayne Rooney, while claiming that he feels "betrayed" by the club.
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The number seven also said that he had seen "no evolution" at the club since Sir Alex Ferguson's departure.
Ronaldo said that he 'loves' Man United and the club's supporters, but his words will have hurt a lot of the fans and undoubtedly have damaged his legacy in the eyes of some.
According to Morgan, who has also been criticised due to his role as the messenger, it was Ronaldo's idea to conduct the interview.
"Well, Cristiano asked me to do it – simple as that. I didn't ask him, he asked me. It was all very recent. He's been thinking about this for a while. I think it's no secret that he's felt a build-up of deep frustration about what's been happening at United over the last year," he told talkSPORT.
"He felt it was time to speak out. He knows it was going to be incendiary, he knows this is going to rattle some cages, but he also feels that he should be doing this. He knows people will criticise him, but he also knows that what he's saying is true. Sometimes the truth hurts.
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"He definitely doesn't say to me that he's definitely leaving. But he's aware that by doing what he's doing it may mean the end of his time at Manchester United – of course he does, he's not stupid."
The truth is, it's over.
There just isn't a chance that Ronaldo plays for the club again after this, nor should there be. The forward would have thought long and hard about giving the interview, and the apparent detail in it, and it will be the final straw for Man United, who simply must come to a resolution that will see him leave in January.
Ronaldo's contract is due to run until the end of the season; the club do have the option to extend it for a further 12 months, but there is probably more chance of Paul Scholes coming out of retirement again.
The former Sporting Lisbon youngster told Man United that he wanted to leave over the summer, but there was a lack of suitors, which would certainly have dented Ronaldo's confidence. Not too long ago, there would not have been a side in world football that would have turned down the chance to take him, regardless of how much it would have cost.
Al-Hilal are believed to have been the only genuine contenders for Ronaldo over the summer, but the player made it clear that he wanted to continue playing European football.
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It is no secret that Ronaldo wants to ensure that he stays ahead of Lionel Messi in terms of the goalscoring charts for the Champions League. As it stands, the Man United attacker has 140, 11 ahead of Messi, who will fancy his chances of adding to that in the knockout round of the competition.
Messi's future at Paris Saint-Germain is unclear, with a return to Barcelona possible, but Inter Miami are also said to be pushing to bring him to the MLS, which would protect Ronaldo's record.
At this moment in time, there is again not an obvious suitor for Ronaldo; Chelsea could again be an option in January, especially with Thomas Tuchel no longer at the club, and that is perhaps something to keep an eye on in the coming weeks, but the Blues are not exactly flying at this moment in time.
According to Morgan, Ronaldo's interview also sees him discuss the club's owners - the Glazers - in addition to what happened against Tottenham, when he went down the tunnel after refusing to come on.
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"Nothing changes. Not only a jacuzzi, a pool, even a gym. Even some technological moments, cuisine, chefs - whom I appreciate, they are wonderful people! All this was frozen in time, which surprised me a lot," Ronaldo said when criticising the infrastructure at the club.
"I thought I would see other things, technologies, infrastructure. Unfortunately, we see a lot of what I used to see at 21, 22, 23 years old. It really surprised me."
Ronaldo isn't wrong; Man United's Carrington training complex is in need of a revamp, and the same can also be said for Old Trafford, especially with some of the modern and spectacular stadiums now in the Premier League.
The forward blanked ex-teammate Gary Neville ahead of the recent clash with West Ham United, with the pundit critical of Ronaldo in the aftermath of the incident against Spurs.
Roy Keane and Rio Ferdinand have been huge supporters of Ronaldo this season, but even Ferdinand has said that he could not defend his former teammate's actions when it came to the interview.
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Ronaldo will forever be remembered as one of the best footballers in the history of world football, let alone Man United. He has broken more records than ever seemed possible, while his overall record in club football stands at 701 goals in 951 appearances, in addition to 117 strikes in 191 games for Portugal.
He is the greatest goalscorer of all time and lit up Old Trafford during his first spell at the club, scoring 118 goals, winning three Premier League titles, one FA Cup, two League Cups, the Community Shield, the Champions League and the FIFA Club World Cup. In short, he was spectacular, he was magic, a supreme footballer, who brought joy to so many when he took to the field; it was almost like he wasn't real, and he is the best player I have ever seen live, alongside Messi.
Ronaldo netted 24 times in all competitions for the Red Devils last season, including 18 in the Premier League, but it was not a successful campaign for the club as a whole, as they finished sixth in England's top flight.
This season, he has managed just three goals in 16 appearances, just one of which has been in the Premier League, although the strike at Everton proved to be his 700th club goal.
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Football, much like life, will always go on. There will be losses along the way, extremely painful ones at that, but the sun will rise each day, and the loss of Ronaldo, this time, will be much easier to take, as he is clearly no longer at the peak of his powers. He just isn't the player that he once was.
Roy Keane, David Beckham, Jaap Stam and Ruud van Nistelrooy are among the high-profile Man United players to have left under a cloud, but all four are hugely popular figures with the club's fanbase, and Ronaldo will be when all is said and done, even if it does not feel like that right now.
Ronaldo will have had his reasons for expressing himself in this way. It might not seem it due to what he has achieved during an extraordinary career, but he is human. Whether or not the interview has come from the right place is something only he can answer, but the full picture will certainly be clearer later this week.
A slight 18-year-old made his debut for Man United against Bolton Wanderers in August 2003, which marked the start of what was to be a sensational spell in English football.
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He turned down Manchester City to return to the club in the summer of 2021, and he would have arrived with the right intentions, hoping to help them back to the top of English and European football.
It hasn't worked, and it is going to end on a very sour note. Right now, there will be feelings of anger and discontent, but it is vital to remember that there are always two sides to every story.
It is so important for both club and player to now move on, and many Man United fans will wish him the best.
The Red Devils can then focus on the future, and there is plenty to be positive about, with Ten Hag bringing style and substance back to the club, and they managed to grind out an important win over Fulham on Sunday, with Garnacho showing that he is very much the future.
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A return to Sporting Lisbon would make a lot of sense, but a deal would rely on Ronaldo taking a huge wage cut and moving to a league that is not considered to be one of Europe's elite.
Man United will make huge savings on their wage bill once the Portuguese has departed, and they will then be able to fully focus on bringing in a new centre-forward next summer, one that fits Ten Hag's system.
The Red Devils have been better this season without Ronaldo in their side - that isn't a criticism of the individual, rather just a demonstration that he is a player in decline - but that doesn't mean that what he has achieved in the greatest game on planet earth should be forgotten about.
There is a famous picture of an elderly gentleman holding an umbrella over his wife, with the two facing away from each other, having clearly had some sort of disagreement. The caption reads: 'Just because I'm mad, doesn't mean I stop caring'. The Man United fans will certainly be mad at Ronaldo right now, and the player will be mad at the club, but that does not mean that there is still not plenty of love there.
Foco total e absoluto nos trabalhos da Selecção Nacional. Grupo unido, rumo a um só objectivo: realizar o sonho de todos os portugueses! pic.twitter.com/iu2qlJvb62
— Cristiano Ronaldo (@Cristiano) November 14, 2022
So, what now? Well, Ronaldo has his eyes on the World Cup, and he will not be thinking about his future at club level for a few weeks at least. Man United, meanwhile, have said that they want to establish "the full facts" before making a proper response.
It is a shame that it had to end like this, but such is life. Sometimes things don't turn out the way that you thought they would, and that's ok, it was some journey to this point.
Ronaldo could decide to become a manager once he has finally finished playing, and it would be some story if he ended up back in Manchester as a head coach in the future. Would he be welcomed back? Yes. Football has a short memory, and time is almost always a fantastic healer.
