What next for Cristiano Ronaldo at Man Utd?
Karan Tejwani
- 3 Sep 2022 06:35 CDT
- 3 min read
The summer transfer window has ended with Cristiano Ronaldo still remaining at Manchester United, despite weeks of speculation over his departure.
Ronaldo made it clear that he wanted to leave the club after the end of the 2021-22 campaign, stating his desire to be at a club where he can enjoy Champions League football in the final years of his career.
Clubs such as Bayern Munich, Paris Saint-Germain and Chelsea were linked to the forward, but refused moves due to age, high cost of the operation or Ronaldo’s fit in their tactical systems.
That has result in Ronaldo being forced to stay at Manchester United, and he will have to play in the Europa League for the first time since he left Sporting as a teenager.
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So far this season, Ronaldo has started games on the bench in four of Manchester United’s opening five league matches, only starting the 4-0 defeat against Brentford.
There have been reports that Erik ten Hag was open to selling Ronaldo in the final weeks of the window, with some suggestions that his demanor was affecting the team’s morale.
Initially, Ronaldo was dropped as he wasn’t fit enough having missed pre-season, but now that he’s been training for over a month, it’s a clear indication that Ten Hag prefers going forward without him.
The coach spoke about Ronaldo’s role: "It's really early in the season and we have a squad. We have more than 11 starting players, that is what you see now, players now on the bench can play in one, two or three weeks."
Great victory! 💪🏽 #mufc pic.twitter.com/AIHhzaBEqf
— Cristiano Ronaldo (@Cristiano) September 2, 2022
Ronaldo will want to stay fit ahead of the World Cup, for which he will jet of in mid-November to link up with the rest of his Portuguese team-mates before flying to Qatar.
At the latest, he will return in the final week of December, just ahead of the opening of the January transfer window, where he will be hoping to depart.
He will have two options from there: either agree a deal with another club to be sold, or run down the final months of his Manchester United contract, and agree a deal with another club for next season.
This has been one of the bigger decisions in the early months of Ten Hag’s tenure, and for Ronaldo, it is perhaps a reality check for his standing in the game, having made a legacy as one of its greatest players.
