Cristiano Ronaldo Told He Is ‘Holding Manchester United To Ransom’ Over Transfer

Cristiano Ronaldo is again facing criticism over his transfer plea and has been told that he is ‘bullying’ Manchester United. 

Ronaldo handed in a transfer request last month and his situation remains unclear with the new Premier League season due to get underway next weekend. 

Former Manchester City player Trevor Sinclair has blasted Ronaldo whilst speaking about the Portuguese’s situation on talkSPORT.

Sinclair said: “He is holding the club to ransom.

“Can you imagine a player doing this to Pep Guardiola or Jurgen Klopp? Antonio Conte, Thomas Tuchel… we saw how he handled the Romelu Lukaku situation, he wasn’t having any of his shenanigans.

“Even Mikel Arteta, a young manager, told Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang, his star player, ‘You’re not playing, I’ll get you out of here as soon as I can’.” 

“No player is bigger than a club!” 😡

“If they adhere to Ronaldo’s demands, they’re proving they can be bullied!”

Trevor Sinclair says #MUFC must 𝙉𝙊𝙏 be held to ransom by Cristiano Ronaldo. 🔥 pic.twitter.com/xBHOESXcIP

— talkSPORT (@talkSPORT) July 29, 2022

The former England player added: “In this situation, Ronaldo is trying to leave, Erik ten Hag is new in the job, it’s a difficult situation, but I don’t want to see United getting bullied.

“I think that’s what Ronaldo is trying to do. I’ve always been brought up that no player is bigger than the club and if United heed to his demands, they’re proving they can be bullied off a footballer.” 

Ronaldo declared his desire to leave Old Trafford after United endured a horrid 21/22 campaign which saw them finish in sixth place in the Premier League. 

As a result of their poor league form, they find themselves in the Europa League this season which is a competition that Ronaldo has no interest in playing in. 

The 37-year-old wants to leave United for a club in the Champions League so that he can further extend his record as the top scorer of the competition’s history. He also wants to be fighting for the top honours, which is something he feels he will not be able to achieve with Erik ten Hag’s side. 

Having missed the club’s pre season tour of Thailand and Australia due to family reasons, Ronaldo was seen arriving into United’s Carrington training base to get his pre season underway earlier this week. His agent Jorge Mendes was also present as the pair held talks with Ten Hag, during the meeting, the five time Ballon d’Or winner again reiterated his wish to leave. 

However, United are adamant that their player is not for sale, Ten Hag has previously said that Ronaldo is in his plans for the new season and is looking forward to working with him. 

'Cristiano Ronaldo is not for sale, I am looking forward to working with him' 🤝

'Martinez is aggressive and I think the fans will love it' 😍

🗣️ Erik Ten Hag sat down with BBC Sport's Simon Stone to discuss preparations for the season ahead.

More ⤵️#BBCFootball

— BBC Sport (@BBCSport) July 18, 2022

In addition to United’s unwillingness to sell, many clubs across the continent are ruling out moves for Ronaldo, which could mean that the Portuguese may be forced to stay at Old Trafford.

Clubs like Chelsea, Bayern Munich, Atletico Madrid and Juventus have all ruled themselves out of the race for Ronaldo’s signature. 

It remains to be seen where Ronaldo will be playing when the new season gets underway.