Cristiano Ronaldo’s situation at Manchester United remains up in the air after a day of talks at Carrington ended in impasse, according to reports.
Ronaldo returned to United’s training ground on Tuesday morning, having missed the entirety of pre-season until now.
Erik ten Hag and his squad returned from their tour of Thailand and Australia over the weekend and are just two weeks out from hosting Brighton at Old Trafford in the 2022/23 Premier League opener on 7 August.
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With the clock ticking fast, there is a reasonable urge from Ten Hag and the board to get Ronaldo’s situation resolved as soon as possible after the Portuguese star expressed his desire to leave the club earlier this summer.
The 37-year-old posted a handful of pictures of himself working out during his absence from the squad, citing personal reasons as the cause of his unknown whereabouts - a reason the club accepted.
The famous No.7 returned to England late on Monday and was pictured driving into United’s training ground around 10 am the following day. He was soon trailed by Sir Alex Ferguson, the man who brought him to the Theatre of Dreams. The clubs Chief Executive Officer, Richard Arnold, was also present.
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United brought out the big guns to convince Ronaldo and his agent, Jorge Mendes, on an Old Trafford stay – but to no avail.
Reports from The Telegraph’s Ian Whittell suggest that neither party would budge on their stance. United are still adamant that Ronaldo stays at the club. The forward and his team, however, remain keen on finding an exit plan.
Ronaldo was said to have attended the post pre-season tour meeting with the squad today, where Erik ten Hag and staff debriefed the squad on how the tour went in their eyes for longer than an hour.
The club officially cited confidentiality and refused to comment on the nature of the talks. The lack of positive news, though, is potentially a telling sign. Should Ronaldo have expressed a desire to stay put, a return to training would have been imminent with his teammates also returning today after getting Monday off to battle jet lag.
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Ten Hag was peppered with questions regarding Ronaldo’s future throughout United’s tour, with the Dutch manager remaining coy and stressing that he is including the goal getter in his immediate plans.
His continued absence, however, is putting the 52-year-old between a rock and a hard place. In theory, the longer Ronaldo remains absent, the easier it should be for a decision to be made regarding his place in the squad.
But, Ronaldo’s status and reputation will make that a hard decision nonetheless – and one that could perhaps upset others in the squad.
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Ronaldo scored 24 goals in 38 appearances in all competitions for United last season. A decent season from an individual perspective, but an extremely underwhelming one as a collective. United finished sixth in the league and got bounced out of the cups with relative quickness.
Without the Portuguese talisman, Ten Hag is a little stuck for options as far as out and out No.9’s go. The only recognized senior striker at the club right now is Anthony Martial.
The Frenchman put together some excellent displays on tour – with United winning three of their four games – but the new Reds’ boss would feel far from comfortable with entering a long, excruciating season with the 26-year-old as his lone marksman.
Resolving Ronaldo’s situation sooner rather than later favours all parties involved. For United, it would allow the club to weigh up their options and test the market in an attempt to bring in another body up front – despite the striker market being quite scarce at the minute.
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However, a quick conclusion that satisfies all could well prove to be wishful thinking. This time last year, Ronaldo was preparing for the season with his former club Juventus. His late Old Trafford return did not materialize until the season had already started.
As much as most fans are over all of the transfer sagas and are eagerly awaiting the actual football to start, do not unbuckle your seatbelts. Plenty of twists and turns could yet await.
Featured Image Credit: AlamyTopics: Manchester United, Manchester United Transfer News & Rumours, Cristiano Ronaldo, Erik Ten Hag, Transfers