Cristiano Ronaldo Suspended 2 Games, Fined $60K by FA over April Incident at Everton

Former Manchester United star Cristiano Ronaldo has been banned for two matches and fined £50,000 (around $60,000) stemming from an April incident when he slapped the cellphone out of the hand of an Everton supporter.

"The forward admitted that his conduct after the final whistle of the Premier League game between Manchester United FC and Everton FC on Saturday 9 April 2022 was improper," the English Football Association said in a statement.

"An independent Regulatory Commission found that his conduct was both improper and violent during a subsequent hearing, and imposed these sanctions."

Ronaldo is a free agent after he and Manchester United agreed Tuesday to terminate his contract with immediate effect.

Ronaldo's suspension will carry over to his next club. The identity of that next club remains unclear.

The 37-year-old's decline on the pitch is impossible to ignore.

In 10 Premier League appearances with United this year, he had one goal and zero assists. Although he scored a team-high 18 goals in 2021-22, they obscured how much his limitations hindered United in other areas of the pitch.

The way in which Ronaldo went scorched earth on Manchester United to effectively force through his exit won't be ignored either. His candid interview with Piers Morgan earlier this month was the final straw, and his departure was inevitable in retrospect considering how much he failed to hide his disaffection.

Especially if you're a club with big ambitions, Ronaldo isn't worth the baggage anymore.

ESPN's Rob Dawson reported Newcastle United isn't interested. Dawson added that Ronaldo's camp is "hopeful of reigniting interest from Chelsea," though it's hard to see why a club that's eighth in the Premier League table would take a risk like this.

Along the same lines, Paris Saint-Germain reportedly declined the opportunity to sign Ronaldo over the summer. The odds that he winds up in the French capital are presumably even lower now given everything that has happened.

Perhaps the World Cup will help Ronaldo reverse the narrative. Should he lead Portugal on a deep run in Qatar, it could provide suitors with confidence in his ability to make an impact in the second half of the club season.