Manchester United insist Ronaldo is staying put
The club made it clear then that Ronaldo would not be sold, and it is understood that United remain committed to keeping the 37-year-old
Manchester United continue to insist that Cristiano Ronaldo will not be sold this summer after the Portuguese forward and his agent, Jorge Mendes, visited the club’s training ground for talks about his future.
It emerged a month ago that Ronaldo wanted to leave Old Trafford so he could play in the Champions League.
The club made it clear then that Ronaldo would not be sold, and it is understood that United remain committed to keeping the 37-year-old.
Ronaldo’s contract expires at the end of the season, but there is an option to extend the deal by a further year.
Ronaldo and Mendes arrived at United’s Carrington base at 10am on Tuesday in the forward’s Bentley. Soon afterward, Sir Alex Ferguson also arrived, although the club insisted that the Scot was at the training ground to attend a lunch with David Gill, the former chief executive, and Richard Arnold, who now holds that title.
Ronaldo is understood to have taken part in a pre-season tour debrief that was led by Erik ten Hag, the new United manager, and his staff.
Ten Hag was adamant that Ronaldo would not be allowed to leave the club when he spoke about the matter during the tour of Thailand and Australia.
“I have read [that he wants to leave] but what I say is Cristiano is not for sale,” Ten Hag said at a press conference in Bangkok two weeks ago. He is in our plans and we want success together. I’m looking forward to working with him.”
Atletico Madrid registered their interest in recruiting Ronaldo this month, but the Spanish club have made it clear to Mendes that his client would have to take a huge pay cut to sign for them. Ronaldo earns about £460,000 a week plus bonuses, of which there are many.
On Tuesday sources at Atletico played down the possibility of signing the forward, who spent nine years with the club’s arch-rivals Real Madrid.
Enrique Cerezo, the Atletico president, then told a Spanish radio station: “I don’t know who invented this story about Cristiano Ronaldo to Atletico Madrid. It’s not true. It’s practically impossible for him to come to Atletico Madrid.’
Chelsea and Bayern Munich have also distanced themselves from claims that they want to sign Ronaldo, who scored 24 goals for United last season.
The only tangible offer that the Portugal captain has had was from an unnamed Saudi Arabian club who have told the forward that they are willing to offer him a staggering two-year contract worth £2.24 million a week. Ronaldo is set to reject the offer because he wants to remain in Europe.
