Piers Morgan again urges Arsenal to sign Cristiano Ronaldo

Piers Morgan has once again moved to urge Arsenal to sign Cristiano Ronaldo - posting a picture of the Portuguese superstar holding up a shirt in a previous interview together.

As a result of his bombshell interview with the broadcaster last week, Ronaldo and Manchester United mutually agreed on Tuesday to terminate his contract at the club.

Posting a photo of them together during a previous interview, in which Ronaldo was handed the Arsenal shirt, Morgan cryptically captioned the tweet 'time for phase two'.

It the latest in a long line of jovial attempts by the broadcaster to get the Portuguese to join the north London club.

In the summer, when reports began to emerge of Ronaldo's unhappiness at Manchester United with the club having failed to qualify for the Champions League, Morgan tweeted 'it's time' alongside a photo of him handing a shirt to the Portuguese.

Perhaps encouraged by Ronaldo's recalcitrance at Manchester United, which first emerged in the public sphere from the man himself last week, Morgan tweeted in response to a question about whether he would sign the forward for Arsenal: 'Yes, actually. He’s exactly what we need. Ronaldo and Gabriel Jesus would take us to the title.'

Ronaldo, meanwhile, amid various controversial flashpoints including saying he does not respect Erik ten Hag, feels the Glazers do not care about the club and took aim at former team-mates for Wayne Rooney and Gary Neville said that he likes Arsenal and would like them to win the league - if Manchester United could not.

'Manchester United first, and if not, Arsenal is some team that I like to see play,' he said.

'I like the team. I like the coach. I think they have a good team.

'And if Manchester United don’t win the Premier League, I will be happy if Arsenal do.'

It was a lighter moment in an interview that caused a major stir around world football and brought the curtain down, seemingly once and for all, on Ronaldo's time with Manchester United.

Releasing a short, 57-word statement on Tuesday evening, Ronaldo said he 'loved' the club but that now felt the right time to depart.

The statement read: 'Following conversations with Manchester United we have mutually agreed to end our contract early.

'I love Manchester United and I love the fans, that will never ever change. However, it feels the right time for me to seek a new challenge.

'I wish the team every success for the remainder of the season and for the future.'

Manchester United themselves, Sportsmail can reveal, will not pay the Portuguese any compensation for the remaining seven months of his £500,000 a week deal.

A terse 68-word statement released on Tuesday evening read: 'Cristiano Ronaldo is to leave Manchester United by mutual agreement, with immediate effect.

'The club thanks him for his immense contribution across two spells at Old Trafford, scoring 145 goals in 346 appearances, and wishes him and his family well for the future.

'Everyone at Manchester United remains focused on continuing the team's progress under Erik ten Hag and working together to deliver success on the pitch.'