Cristiano Ronaldo is back in Manchester to discuss his future at Manchester United with manager Erik ten Hag and CEO Richard Arnold. Ronaldo, who has missed the entire preseason thus far amid his desire leave the club is expected to tell Ten Hag that he still wants to play Champions League football this upcoming season.
That said, the club maintain their stance that he’s not for sale and CR7 is thus expected to return to pre-season training. This according to The Athletic.
? EXCL: Cristiano Ronaldo travelling back to Manchester today & will hold talks with Man Utd on future. Unclear if/when 37yo will return to training. Club stance still not for sale + expect him to be important part of side next season @TheAthleticUK #MUFC https://t.co/4AZVRPm1cO
— David Ornstein (@David_Ornstein) July 25, 2022
This situation is pretty crazy when you remember that he’s still under contract at United and should have been back a few weeks ago. While the party line is on leave due to family issues, the whole world knows what’s really going on- a bitter holdout.
However, his agent apparently wasn’t able to get the Portugese forward a move to another club that he wanted to sign for, so here we are in a very awkward situation.
Chelsea, Paris Saint-Germain, Bayern Munich and both Madrid clubs all said no to Ronaldo. Perhaps the 37-year-old striker, who has one season left on his two year deal with the club, just isn’t as hot a commodity as he fancies himself.
Meanwhile, United defender Diogo Dalot insists that Ronaldo still has a major role to play for this club, this upcoming season, despite all the time missed in the preseason. “I think Cristiano is important for us,” Dalot said.
“What we know is he is going through some family issues, we hope everything is OK.”
United still have two friendlies left before the season starts, and there is still a chance Ronaldo could feature in the latter.
Paul M. Banks is the owner/manager of The Bank (TheSportsBank.Net) and author of “Transatlantic Passage: How the English Premier League Redefined Soccer in America,” as well as “No, I Can’t Get You Free Tickets: Lessons Learned From a Life in the Sports Media Industry.”
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