I am baffled about why he didn't keep his powder dry.
Could've started the season, scored a few goals, done well at Qatar 22 and, off the back of that, pushed for a move to a Champions League knock out round club in January 2023.
If I was Ronaldo I'd swallow my pride, negotiate the cancellation of my United contract and go to Sporting on reduced wages. He already has more money than sense and his endorsements and sponsorships will fill in what Sporting can't pay in wages for a year. Go to Sporting win the Portuguese league and play in the Champions League.
Lets face it, Atleti are more likely to win the Champions League than Sporting but they're not certs to be in the last 4, maybe not even the last 8. So why not go to Sporting? If he goes 'home' and wins the Portuguese title back from Porto he can justify his decision by saying it was all about trophies. Sporting are in a better position to challenge Porto than we are to challenge City. So his spin and PR would be able to sell it.
If he goes to Atleti he's probably not going to win La Liga, especially with Madrid and Barca strengthening, he's probably not going to with the Champions League: Madrid, Barcelona, Bayern, City, Liverpool and Chelsea are all at least as good as Atleti. So what is the great attraction of Atleti over Sporting? Giving the finger to Florentino Perez one last time? Will be meaningless if Madrid win the title again and Ronaldo wins nothing. Florentino will just laugh.