Cristiano Ronaldo's 'final' Manchester United shirt has sold at auction for £39,000

The Manchester United shirt which Cristiano Ronaldo wore in his latest (and maybe last) appearance for the club has sold for thousands of pounds at auction.

The white away jersey which The Red Devils wore against Aston Villa earlier this month has been bought by an unnamed Chinese bidder for more than £39,000.

The shirt could be the last one the Portuguese superstar wears for the club.

A controversial recent interview with Piers Morgan has damaged the 37 year old's relationship with the powers that be at Old Trafford, with United saying they'd 'initiated appropriate recent steps' in response to what was said.

This could suggest that the forward's time at the club is coming to an end, less than 18 months after he returned.

'It’s true that Manchester United are prepared to instruct Cristiano Ronaldo not to return to Carrington after World Cup,' transfer guru Fabrizio Romano said on Twitter earlier today.

'This is the plan as things stand. This is one of the first steps after the interview — more will follow in the next days.'

Ronaldo's return to United hasn't been as glorious as many expected.

Despite scoring 18 goals last season, the five-time Ballon d'Or winner's fallen out of favour with new manager Erik Ten Hag.

This was best illustrated during United's recent victory against Tottenham, in which Ronaldo walked down the tunnel before the game had come to its conclusion.

"He wouldn't have done this interview if he wanted a way back,' Gary Neville told Sky Sports recently. 'He knew it would bring the headlines it has and be the end of his Manchester United career.

"I’m wondering what Manchester United are doing because the reality of it is they know they have to terminate Cristiano's contract or they basically open up a precedent so any player can criticise them in the future.

'I agree with some of the things Cristiano has said, and many Manchester United fans will agree with many things Cristiano has said.

"But the reality is if you're an employee within a business and say those things your employment has to terminate, and Manchester United have to do that in the next few days.”