Wantaway forward Cristiano Ronaldo will resume training with his Manchester United teammates at Carrington until a permanent solution to his exit wish is found, according to reports.
Such news emerged through Spanish journalist, Manu Sainz, in the late hours of Tuesday evening — after earlier reports in England revealed that lengthy talks between Ronaldo and Erik ten Hag ended at an impasse.
The Telegraph was the first outlet to break concrete news of the conversations that took place at United’s training ground, despite the club citing confidentiality on the matter.
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The report stated that neither the club — who want to keep the player — or Ronaldo, who is keen on an exit from Manchester United, would budge towards a compromise during the discussions.
Sainz, who is known to have a good rapport with Ronaldo’s agent Jorge Mendes, then revealed that Ronaldo was ever present at Carrington. The Portuguese legend was said to have been amicable with his teammates and urged them to get to training together after some chatter.
Per the report, Ronaldo will now continue training “with total professionalism” for as long as he is still a United player. A nice touch, however the professionalism offering is a slightly mistimed gesture.
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Sainz also revealed that Ronaldo’s teammates gave him a warm welcome back into the training ground and filled the No.7 in on the latest from their recently concluded tour of Thailand and Australia. Ronaldo mostly spoke to Portuguese and Brazilian players, as well as the new signings, before indicating a desire to get back to work.
Ronaldo infamously missed United’s pre-season tour under the new leadership, citing personal reasons as the cause. Ten Hag remained coy throughout the trip, acknowledging the star man’s absence and emphasizing that he remains in his plans.
However, before Tuesday, the duo had not spoken since May. Ten Hag was being kept in the loop about the latest developments by third parties.
During the talks, which were described by Sainz as ‘tense’, Mendes and Ronaldo’s personal manager, Ricardo Regufe, presented United’s executives — Chief Executive Officer, Richard Arnold, and Sir Alex Ferguson — with a number of options to grant Ronaldo’s parting wishes.
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It is also said that the player also reiterated his desire to leave to Ten Hag himself. The Dutch boss reportedly tried to sell his project to the legendary striker once again, but to no avail.
Ten Hag has admitted on multiple occasions that he would not be opposed to Ronaldo spearheading his rebuild this season after the marksman bagged 24 goals in all competitions in 2021/22.
The player trained as normal, and when his team-mates gave him a warm welcome back at Carrington when they saw him arrive, and told him how the Manchester pre-season had been, they explained that "they had formed a group".
There are varying reasons being reported behind Ronaldo’s wish to leave the club at which he first stole the major headlines. The underwhelming performance last season and the reported salary cuts as a result of missing out on the Champions League being a couple.
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Additionally, Ronaldo’s relationship with the Champions League is no secret. He would love to continue breaking records on Tuesday and Wednesday nights for as long as he is capable of playing at the highest level. That’s why an Atletico Madrid move has reportedly appealed to the striker.
United will of course return to the second tier of European football in the Europa League next season — a stage that Ronaldo is yet to be seen on.
In summary, what we know is that there is not much to know. As detailed as Sainz’s report was in comparison to those from closer to Manchester — the end result was the same in both. A mutual agreement that suits both parties is yet to be found.
The next steps should be taken over the next few days. United are just two weeks away from tipping off their Premier League campaign against Brighton at Old Trafford. A swift resolution to this issue is imperative to Ten Hag’s preparations — with the squad still somewhat lacking in depth.
Featured Image Credit: AlamyTopics: Manchester United, Manchester United Transfer News & Rumours, Cristiano Ronaldo, Jorge Mendes, Erik Ten Hag, Football, Transfers
