Report: Cristiano Ronaldo Requests Manchester United Transfer If Club Gets Good Offer
July 2, 2022
Cristiano Ronaldo has asked Manchester United to let him leave this summer if the club receives a reasonable transfer offer, per Duncan Castles of The Times.
David Ornstein of The Athletic later confirmed the report.
The 37-year-old Portuguese is hoping to play in the UEFA Champions League for the remainder of his career, but Manchester United didn't qualify after finishing sixth in the Premier League.
Ronaldo has appeared in Champions League in each of the last 19 years with Manchester United, Juventus and Real Madrid, winning five titles in this stretch. He has never played in the Europa League, only playing one season in the UEFA Cup as a teenager with Sporting CP.
Rob Dawson of ESPN reported last month that Manchester United had told Ronaldo he was not available for transfer, with new manager Erik ten Hag planning on having Ronaldo for the 2022-23 season.
The five-time Ballon d'Or winner led the Red Devils with 18 league goals in 2021-22, adding six more in six Champions League matches. He was named to the PFA Team of the Year in England.
Ronaldo's agent, Jorge Mendes, met with Chelsea owner Todd Boehly last month, per Ornstein and Dan Sheldon of The Athletic. The player has also been linked with Bayern Munich this summer, per Jacob Ranson of the Daily Mail.
Ornstein noted Napoli are also "understood to be interested," while PSG "are not currently interested" in pursuing Ronaldo.
If he were to leave, Ronaldo's second spell at Manchester United would be cut short at just one year after he returned to the club. Ronaldo first signed for the Red Devils from Sporting Lisbon in 2003 and went on to score 118 goals in 292 games while winning three Premier League titles and a Champions League in a six-year stay.
He moved on to Real Madrid in 2009 for a world-record transfer fee of $130 million, winning four more Champions League titles and two league titles. He then won two Italian league titles with Juventus in three years before making a sensational return to United last summer.
While Ronaldo recorded reasonable individual statistics, he was unable to lift his team, which went from finishing second in 2020-21 to ending up sixth in 2021-22.