Manchester United Transfer News: Latest Cristiano Ronaldo, Gareth Bale Rumours

Cristiano Ronaldo's agent has dealt a blow to Manchester United in their reported pursuit of the Portuguese superstar by again indicating he will finish his career at Real Madrid.

However, former Los Blancos general manager Jorge Valdano has handed the Red Devils some hope by suggesting Ronaldo is currently playing "under protest" at the Bernabeu.

United manager Louis van Gaal is reportedly eager to take Ronaldo back to the club he left in 2009 for £80 million, but the 30-year-old's agent, Jorge Mendes, has effectively ruled out a move, per Vaishali Bhardwaj in the Evening Standard:

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We must wait maybe 10 years because I said many times and I think he will finish his career about 40 or 41 years old. I'm sure that he will finish his career at Real Madrid and after that we will see, it's too soon. He's the best player in the world and, for me, he's the best ever for sure. Even when he was young about 15 or 16, he was the best ever because it was impossible to find a player with his qualities at that time.

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This is certainly not the first time Mendes has claimed as much. Indeed, only last month he made very similar comments about Ronaldo's future, per Spanish TV show Elpartidodelas12 (via Dave Wood in the Daily Mail).

This has not stopped rumours from flying about Ronaldo's future, though, despite the forward having a contract with Real Madrid until 2018.

He has been persistently linked with a move back to United or to Paris Saint-Germain, per Spanish football expert Guillem Balague (via talkSPORT's Joe Moore). 

Valdano added fuel to the fire by suggesting that Ronaldo is not particularly enjoying life at Madrid under manager Rafael Benitez at the moment, per Cadena SER (via Sport): "Ronaldo would prefer to be playing out on the left like he's always done. It's hard to know if it's because he's not scoring, or his position, but he's not enjoying playing at the moment. He's playing under protest."

As noted by Bleacher Report's Sam Tighe, Ronaldo has not been in the best of form of late, and Real have been poor as a result:

United could conceivably have a chance of taking him back to Old Trafford if he continues to be frustrated at Real, but Mendes' comments seem to suggest it is unlikely.

Ronaldo's Real team-mate Gareth Bale has also been a long-rumoured target for United, but the Welshman is reportedly happy in Madrid.

Denis Doyle/Getty Images

According to MailOnline's Simon Jones, Bale is "firmly ensconced in the plans of president Florentino Perez" and is unlikely to be open to a move to United.

The Red Devils are clearly eager to add a big-name star to their squad in the upcoming transfer windows, and they are targeting two of the biggest names in world football in Ronaldo and Bale. 

But they will seemingly have to look elsewhere with the superlative duo looking likely to stay put at the Bernabeu.