Cristiano Ronaldo wants to leave Manchester United in January after becoming a regular substitute under Erik ten Hag.
Ten Hag won’t get in the way of Ronaldo if he wants to leave the club during the winter transfer window, according to a story in The Telegraph. An exit, however, would be permitted only if Ten Hag’s criteria is met.
Ronaldo has consistently expressed his desire to leave United. The player hasn’t officially stated a wish to leave, but Jorge Mendes, the player’s agent, has been in contact with prospective new clubs virtually the whole summer.
Mendes may choose to start negotiations with big European teams like Bayern Munich, Chelsea, Atletico Madrid, Borussia Dortmund, Napoli, etc. regarding Ronaldo’s potential transfer. Nothing productive happened when Mendes approached these clubs in the summer.
Ronaldo’s current deal with Manchester United expires next summer, although he has the option to extend his stay until 2024. As a result, Ronaldo is now able to discuss a free transfer with clubs next summer.
This season, the star striker has only made a total of five substitute appearances, for a total of 207 minutes, and has only started one Premier League game under Ten Hag.
Ten Hag emphasised in the summer that he would want to have Ronaldo on the team, but that stance may be softening now that it is evident he prefers other forwards and that the media circus surrounding Ronaldo is not helpful.
In the 6-3 drubbing that Manchester United experienced on Sunday against rival Manchester City, he garnered a lot of attention by failing to make the team as a replacement. Following his justification for not utilising Ronaldo at the Etihad, the Dutch manager has faced criticism. The Portuguese icon was not used at the Etihad Stadium, according to him, “out of respect for Cristiano, for his tremendous career.”
Under Ten Hag, United had a terrible start to the season, but then went on a run of four straight Premier League victories, including triumphs over Liverpool and the mighty Arsenal. However, the 6-3 loss to Manchester City has demonstrated that there is still more improvement to be done by the team and coach before they can consider contending for the Premier League title.