Neither Manchester United nor Cristiano Ronaldo are ever far from drama, and in the transfer window this peaks.
The prominent story coming out of Carrington in the last week is the desire of Cristiano Ronaldo to once again depart Manchester United, with the 37-year-old reportedly citing lack of transfer activity and concerns about their ability to win silverware as his reasoning.
Ronaldo returned to Manchester last summer in a fairy-tale moment long dreamed about by fans of the club, but it quickly turned into a nightmare with Ole Gunnar Solskjær failing to live up to the standards that came with his window, almost completely capitulating.
After his sacking, interim manager Ralf Rangnick was unable to steady the ship and United ended up finishing sixth, whilst being quite a way off the five teams ahead of them. As a result, they will not play Champions League football next season.
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With the season having finished a few months ago, United have made just one signing so far with other deals stalling, including number one target Frenkie de Jong. After this, Ronaldo has decided he would like to leave the club in order to maximise his final few years left as a professional.
United have insisted that the player is not for sale publicly, but as reported by Sky, they will privately listen to offers for him and believe that a fair deal would be the best outcome for all parties. United will not want to hold Ronaldo against his will, as it could cause significant issues in what is an already fractured dressing room in need of rebuilding.
The No.7 reportedly likes new boss Erik ten Hag and believes he has what it takes to be successful at Manchester in the long term, but the long term understandably does not matter to the 37-year-old who would like to win now.
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In the short term, United will suffer from losing their first choice striker, and should they not replace him the club could be in for a tough season should Anthony Martial not rediscover his brilliant best – but in the long term, it is arguably better for the club that the Portuguese superstar leaves now.
Cristiano Ronaldo is, without a doubt, one of the greatest players to ever grace the sport. But United need to rebuild now, and the focus should be on that.
Ronaldo’s presence brings a certain pressure to win, and at United there is enough of this already. The relief of this added pressure could have a positive impact on Erik ten Hag’s efforts to rebuild Manchester United.
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Whether or not Ronaldo actually will leave Old Trafford remains to be seen, but the story is worth monitoring over the next week, particularly how it changes as United’s own transfer developments change.
Cristiano Ronaldo will not be joining Manchester United on the beginning of their pre-season tour when they fly to Bangkok on Friday.
The club are due to play Liverpool on 12 July in the Thailand city, before flying over to Australia to continue their 'Tour 2022'.
There they will face Crystal Palace, Aston Villa and Melbourne Victory, with Christian Eriksen expected to join the club on this part of the tour once his pending signing with the club is made official.
Erik ten Hag's men will then fly back to Europe to conclude the pre-season, with a match-up against Atletico Madrid in Oslo awaiting the squad on 30 July before heading back to Old Trafford to face Rayo Vallecano the following day.
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Erik ten Hag will then finally be able to get his competitive Manchester United season underway the following weekend, with Manchester United set to face Brighton & Hove Albion on 7 August as part of the opening weekend of the Premier League season.
Featured Image Credit: AlamyTopics: Manchester United, Manchester United Transfer News & Rumours, Cristiano Ronaldo, Erik Ten Hag, Anthony Martial, Christian Eriksen, Frenkie De Jong
