Manchester United Transfer News: Latest Sergio Ramos, Cristiano Ronaldo Rumours

The plot surrounding Sergio Ramos' potential transfer to Manchester United thickens, with strong claims Real Madrid are now prepared to sell the defender—despite coach Rafael Benitez denying the player will leave his club.

Ramos was also absent from Los Blancos' trophy celebrations against Manchester City—in the Australian edition of the International Champions Cup on Friday—with Marca confirming the team captain remained in the dressing room as Cristiano Ronaldo picked up the prize. 

Despite the trophy not being of huge importance, and with Ramos allegedly receiving treatment for a niggle, it certainly is strange the skipper was absent for the photo opportunity with his Madrid team-mates after an emphatic 4-1 victory.

Theo Karanikos/Associated Press

Spanish journalist Pablo Garcia Cuervo has stated his belief both player and club have come to a resolution on his departure, claiming to Radio Marca that Florentino Perez is now ready to sell, per Will Giles of Metro:

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Sergio [Ramos] has made his mind up. Florentino [Perez] also wants Sergio to leave, but Real Madrid want it to seem like Sergio is the one who wants to leave because he isn’t very ‘madridista’. If Florentino Perez wanted to keep Casillas, he hid it very well. The same is happening with Ramos.

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Despite the claims, new coach Benitez was emphatic in his stance regarding Ramos' reported move to the Red Devils and has said the defender will not be leaving the Bernabeu, as quoted by the Champions League's official Twitter account:

Galactico midfielder Luka Modric has also voiced his opinion regarding Ramos' possible exit, saying to SPORT he hopes the defender remains in the famous white shirt, per Mark Doyle of Goal.com: "I hope that Sergio stays as he’s so important for us. [He's] our captain and our leader, on and off the pitch. He seems happy and I feel that he will stay. I’m sure he wants to stay, too."

Ronaldo Weary of Galactico Circus

Theo Karanikos/Associated Press

With the bandwagon behind Ramos set to continue in the interim, it seems Ronaldo has become disillusioned with the treatment of Madrid's major stars—with Samuel Luckhurst of the Manchester Evening News claiming United will take full advantage of their former icon's troubles. 

Luckhurst says Louis van Gaal will move for the Ballon d'Or winner—and states the north-west superclub are "working on what could be a new club-record deal to bring Ronaldo back to Manchester six years after he joined Real Madrid for a world record £80 million."

Luckhurst also quotes former manager David Moyes, who confirmed last year—after his departure from Old Trafford—the club did have a desire to bring the attacker back to England: "There was talk of Ronaldo when I first arrived. We were close to getting a couple of major names."

Luca Bruno/Associated Press

However, Spanish football expert Graham Hunter stated to talkSPORT he believes there will be no romantic reunion for CR7 and United, believing Madrid have no desire to see their star player return to the Premier League:

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In the last two seasons Ronaldo scored 112 goals for Real Madrid—there is no strategy to replace him. If they are saying "no" to Sergio Ramos leaving, how do you think Perez is going to react to Ronaldo [asking to leave]? I don’t see how it is going to happen.

More than that, Manchester should be in the Champions League next season but they face a play-off and that play-off finishes four, five days before the market closes. Is Ronaldo the type of player to say "I would love to go back to Manchester United so much, even without Alex Ferguson, if there is any possibility of me ending up in the Europa League?" I’d say no.

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Hunter's assessment appears the most fluid as to why Ronaldo will not be heading back to Old Trafford, but these are clearly unstable times in the Spanish capital. If Ramos departs to join Van Gaal's red revolution, the move could certainly trigger an exodus of stars at the Bernabeu. 

Bleacher Report's Sam Tighe also gave his opinion on the Galactico debacle, believing Ramos would be a huge upgrade for United's defence but that Madrid will not allow themselves to be weakened by a sale:

Ramos is a senior figure in the Los Blancos dressing room, and his opinion will be received loud and clear if he opts to leave the club in favour of a rebuilding giant. 

United want marquee names, and with Ramos not publicly killing the rumours of a switch, the two parties might find themselves in bed together before the end of the transfer window. 

However, the sight of Ronaldo in a United shirt remains a dream for many supporters, and while Perez upsets the balance at Madrid further, the Portugal captain might make eyes at his former club to come and get him.