It has become clear Cristiano Ronaldo wants to leave Manchester United this summer. New manager, Erik ten Hag has previously stated Ronaldo is not for sale and is in his plans for this season.
However, a recent meeting between the pair suggests Ronaldo confirmed his desire to leave Old Trafford. So, what is the problem and why is Ronaldo still at Manchester United with the start of the season drawing near?
A first sight of goal for @Cristiano 🎯Click below to enjoy the game live 👇#MUFC— Manchester United (@ManUtd) July 31, 2022
A first sight of goal for @Cristiano 🎯Click below to enjoy the game live 👇#MUFC
Second best is simply not good enough for Ronaldo and he wants to be competing for the biggest trophies.
That includes the league title for his club and that does not necessarily mean the English Premier League, it could be La Ligaa in Spain, Serie A in Italy, or Ligue 1 in France.
The main goal for Ronaldo is to try and win the Champions League one more time and he cannot do that this season with Manchester United, who will be participating in the Europa League.
The Portuguese international wants to be playing on Tuesday and Wednesday nights, not on a Thursday.
Another factor behind the decision to leave Old Trafford is likely to be the Champions League goal scorers record. At the time of writing, Ronaldo is 15 goals clear of Lionel Messi in the all-time Champions League top scorers chart.
However, Messi will be playing in the Champions League again with Paris Saint-Germain this season and if the Argentine remains fit, he could score plenty of goals.
Even if Ronaldo did not play in the Champions League this season, Messi is unlikely to score the goals in one campaign to catch Ronaldo, but over two seasons, there is a chance. Ronaldo does not want to take that risk and the only way to guarantee top spot is to score more goals in the Champions League before he retires.
The obstacle for Ronaldo has been the apparent reluctance of any major European club competing in the Champions League to sign the Portuguese.
There has been links with Chelsea, Bayern Munich, and Atletico Madrid, with the latter seemingly the most likely right now but at this stage, no concrete offers have come in for Ronaldo. That leaves him in the awkward situation of wanting to leave a club where he is adored by the fans for past achievements but possibly having to play in the meantime.
As for Manchester United, if Ronaldo does leave, they do not have much time to bring in a new striker. Options are limited in terms of world class strikers and that could mean having to look at a younger player, who has room for improvement.
That is far from ideal for a club who want to finish at least in the top four of the Premier League this season. Ronaldo scored 18 goals in the Premier League season and Manchester United will need to find those goals elsewhere.
The closer we get to the transfer deadline without Ronaldo leaving, the more likely we will see a smoothing over of this ordeal and the player remaining at Old Trafford. How that will work out for player and club remain to be seen.