Manchester United manager wants to sell Ronaldo 

Manchester United manager wants to sell Ronaldo 
Ronaldo News

The Red Devils manager Erik ten Hag has shifted his stance on Cristiano Ronaldo’s request to exit Manchester United and is open to selling the Portugal international in the transfer window.

The Dutch manager, seeking solutions to back-to-back embarrassments at the hands of Brighton and Brentford, is understood to be unhappy with Ronaldo’s behaviour around United’s squad and motivation to see the club succeed this season.

With a little over two weeks of the summer window remaining, Ronaldo is waiting to see if United’s executives and owners will match their new manager’s change of tack and accede to the forward’s repeatedly expressed wish to be permitted to leave for a Champions League club. United were tonight continuing to insist that Ronaldo is not for sale.

United’s position is complicated by the need not simply to secure a replacement for a player who scored 13 more Premier League goals than anyone else in last season’s squad, but also to add additional strike power to a debilitating attack.

The club must simultaneously attempt to fend off Paris Saint-Germain’s aggressive courtship of Marcus Rashford.

United are in talks with Atletico Madrid over their Brazilian striker Matheus Cunha. It is believed that the 23-year-old, who joined the Spanish club from Hertha Berlin in 2021, would command a fee in the region of €50 million (about £42 million).

There is no indication that Ronaldo would be part of any deal for Cunha.

While allowing Ronaldo to switch clubs for the second consecutive summer would open up room on United’s wage bill, the 37-year-old’s commercial value is such a transfer would have ramifications for a balance sheet already damaged by last season’s failure to qualify for the Champions League.

The Times understands that additional contributions from sponsors helped finance Ronaldo’s return from Juventus for an initial transfer fee of €15 million (about £12.6 million).

Ronaldo’s representatives have held discussions with a number of leading clubs in order to find the record breaking forward a new employer with initial interest expressed by both the new ownership group at Chelsea and Bayern Munich.

Atletico Madrid coach Diego Simeone impressed Ronaldo with his eagerness to work with him, and the Spanish club are open to using individuals such as Alvaro Morata or Antoine Griezmann to facilitate a deal.

Any move to Atletico would be unpopular with their supporters, however, given that Ronaldo is the all-time leading goalscorer for rivals Real Madrid.

Napoli have discussed utilising Italy’s favourable tax laws to bring the forward back to Serie A.

Ronaldo’s request to exit Old Trafford has been driven by dual concerns. On the sporting level, he wants to spend a 20th consecutive season in Europe’s premier club competition, extending records he already holds for appearances (183), goals (140) and assists (42).

At a personal level, he has reasons for moving his young family from Manchester.