According to a report in The Daily Telegraph, Cristiano Ronaldo will now be allowed to leave Manchester United. Providing he can find a new club.
That second part could be hard as the clock ticks down on the summer transfer window.
Ronaldo, 37, has wanted to leave all summer long and United’s new manager, Erik ten Hag, was said to be fine with that. However, reports have stated that United’s hierarchy wanted to keep Ronaldo at the club.
The latest news, via The Daily Telegraph, is that Cristiano Ronaldo has been told he can leave Manchester United if he can find a new club. That news comes off the back of a shocking start to the season as United have lost both their games (to Brentford and Brighton after two awful performances) and Ronaldo has looked disinterested.
Our partners in the UK at Sky Sports say that Ronaldo ‘may’ be allowed to leave if Erik ten Hag believes it is better for the team that the Portuguese superstar leaves Old Trafford.
Where could he go?
There are only a few options left if he wants to continue to play in the Champions League, which is reportedly the main reason he wants to leave United.
An emotional return to Sporting Lisbon (Ronaldo would surely have to take massive pay cut) is one option, while Atletico Madrid are reportedly still interested in bringing Ronaldo back to La Liga.
With Chelsea, Bayern Munich, Juventus and PSG seemingly no longer options for Ronaldo, the reason he’s been made to hang around at the club is probably because nobody was willing to bid for him and nobody can afford the wages he’s currently on.
How will this impact United?
Well, as we saw on Saturday, Ronaldo doesn’t really fit into the Erik ten Hag style of play and even though he scored 24 goals in all competitions for the Red Devils last season, his presence in the side makes the team unit weaker.
That is crazy to say given his incredible consistency and quality over the years but if you have Ronaldo in your team, it is all about him. He’s the focal point of your attack and that only works in certain systems.
United looked better in preseason with a fluid front three of Anthony Martial, Jadon Sancho and Marcus Rashford and Ronaldo’s influence on the dressing room is also huge.
Removing him from this situation to help Erik ten Hag bed in a new philosophy and new ideas was always the smart move and it boggles the mind that United didn’t move Ronaldo on sooner this summer. They are now scrambling to sign a new forward as the likes of Antony, Jamie Vardy and Matheus Cunha have been linked with a move to United.
