Cristiano Ronaldo leaving Manchester United?
As Manchester United did not qualify for the Champions League this year, Cristiano Ronaldo has reportedly asked the club to be allowed to leave if they receive a suitable offer for him. The club finished sixth in the Premier League and did not qualify for the Champions League.
Having scored 24 goals in 39 appearances this season, it is understandable if Ronaldo is not satisfied with his team’s placement. The club has not won any game in the last season where Ronaldo was not on the field. It is safe to say that he outshined every single player in his team in the ‘21/’22 season, as all other star players struggled to live up to their potential.
Ronaldo has played 19 consecutive Champions League seasons so far and he is the leading scorer with 141 goals and will definitely want to improve this legendary stat line. Staying in Manchester United would mean that he has to wait a whole season and finish in the top 4 in the Premier League which is the toughest challenge in the football world. At the age of 37, it is perfectly understandable why he wants to spend his last years of professional football in the Champions League and does not want to waste a whole season playing the Europa League. We can assume that he has only 2 to 3 years left playing at this level of professional football, and it is most likely that he would want to move to a team that will be competing in the Champions League and add up more trophies to his already huge collection.
Another reason that he might want to leave are the bad transfer activities in Manchester United. They failed to attract any big name players at the beginning of the transfer window, while all the other big English clubs already made some sensational transfers. The biggest transfer being Erling Haaland that signed with Manchester City, making them the betting favorites according to 1xbet casino review! Another big transfer is the move of Darwin Nunez, from Benfica to Liverpool, the biggest rival to Manchester United. Even Tottenham Hotspur and Arsenal managed to bring big name players such as Richarlson and Gabriel Jesus.
Meanwhile, United appointed a new permanent manager, Erik Ten Hag who is most known for his success with AFC Ajax, when he won the Eredivisie League, the KNVB Cup and also lead the team to the Champions League semi finals back in 2019. Erik Ten Hag definitely wants to keep Ronaldo as the main striker for the team, and so far has said that he is still counting on Ronaldo to play for the upcoming season. He still has not spoken to him about his desire to leave the club, but he remains calm about the said situation. He reported that “Cristiano is not for sale, he is in our plans and we want success together”.
Rumors are spreading that Ronaldo’s super-agent, Jorge Mendes, has already been in contact with some A-list clubs for Ronaldo’s future transfer. Clubs like Chelsea and Bayern Munich are said to be interested in the super star, but nothing has been confirmed for now.
The future for Ronaldo and Manchester United is an uncertain one for the time being. The transfer window officially closes at the end of August 31st, and we are yet to see what will happen with the football legend. There is possibility that Ronaldo will look to solve the situation as soon as possible and start focusing on the World Cup which will be happening in Qatar, starting November 21st.