Cristiano Ronaldo OUT of Man Utd squad after exit talks
James Shearman
- Updated: 29 Jul 2022 19:18 BST
- 3 min read
Cristiano Ronaldo’s future is up in the air as he's been left out of Manchester United's squad for their pre-season friendly against Atletico Madrid.
Even though the start of the Premier League season is next weekend, the 37-year-old is yet to join up with his United teammates.
Instead, it appears his time at Old Trafford could soon be up after it was reported a few weeks ago that he wished to find a new club for next season.
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The Portugal international is worried about the Red Devils' ability to challenge for trophies next season and is unhappy about the prospect of not playing in the Champions League.
As a result, agent Jorge Mendes has been offering his services to multiple clubs over the past weeks.
So far, it has been reported that the following clubs have been approached; Chelsea, Bayern Munich, PSG, Roma, Napoli, Sporting Lisbon and Atletico Madrid.
📋 Confirmed: our travelling squad for Oslo...@TyrellMalaciia ✔@LisandrMartinez ❓@ChrisEriksen8 ❓#MUFC
— Manchester United (@ManUtd) July 29, 2022
And, according to CBS reporter Ben Jacobs, Ronaldo would be prepared to take a significant pay cut, with sources close to him saying that might even be as high as 30 percent.
How Man Utd could line up without Ronaldo
Erik ten Hag arrives at Old Trafford with a long history of playing a 4-3-3 formation, and that is likely what he will stick with at Man Utd, albeit it could look more like a 4-2-3-1, with Bruno Fernandes occupying what is effectively a No.10 role in front of a couple of sitting midfielders.
Donny van de Beek could be used as the tempo-setter in a deep midfield role, although that could equally become Christian Eriksen should he arrive on a free transfer.
It is up front where the focus will be, though. And it is here where the abject lack of depth in Man Utd’s ranks becomes plain to see.
With no Ronaldo, it will probably be left to Anthony Martial to lead the line, flanked by Jadon Sancho and Marcus Rashford.
The France international is in a difficult period of his career and is coming off the back of a loan move at Sevilla, where he failed to thrive.
It is clear, then, that if Ronaldo moves, Man Utd would themselves be seeking a new No.9, but the lack of options on the transfer market then becomes a fresh headache.
