According to rumours, Cristiano Ronaldo was scheduled to return to England on Monday in preparation for a confrontational conversation with Manchester United manager Erik ten Hag over his future.
Ronaldo, 37, stayed in Portugal to train throughout United’s preseason trip of Thailand and Australia.
The striker’s absence from the tour was attributed to family obligations, but Ronaldo has already notified United that he plans to depart after this season in order to play in the Champions League.
The Athletic reports that Ronaldo was anticipated to return to Manchester on Monday and may speak with boss Ten Hag as soon as Tuesday to discuss his future.
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The Dutch manager is certain that he can integrate Ronaldo into his system and that he wants the attacker to stay at Old Trafford.
Despite having one year left on his contract, Ronaldo is reportedly planning to leave the team and is not interested in playing in the UEFA Europa League for United next season, which was United’s fate following a disappointing Premier League season.
Reports that Ronaldo’s agent, Jorge Mendes, offered his client’s services to some of Europe’s greatest teams but were turned down by clubs like Paris Saint-Germain, Bayern Munich, and Chelsea have dominated transfer chatter during the summer window.
Recent rumors about Cristiano Ronaldo joining Diego Simeone’s Atletico Madrid have some of the fandom concerned, especially in light of Ronaldo’s prior success at Real’s crosstown rivals.
By chance, United will play Atletico Madrid on Saturday at Oslo’s Ullevaal Stadion.
Without the five-time Ballon d’Or winner in their ranks, United has so far looked good in preseason, not least when they destroyed Premier League rivals Liverpool 4-0 in Bangkok.
When United were in Australia, Ten Hag spoke about Ronaldo and believed that the Portuguese player could contribute to the new-look squad he was seeking to assemble as United seeks to break their five-year trophy drought.
The Dutchman remarked, “A great player can help, and Ronaldo is an absolute elite player in our group.
The other players decide how you should play. especially those who score goals, who are crucial to the success of a team. You build your group around them.
Ronaldo has one season left on his current deal but has the option of an additional year on top of that. He returned to United from Juventus in an unexpected late move last summer.
He led the squad in scoring last season, scoring 18 goals in 30 Premier League games and six goals in the Champions League.
After their preseason is through, United will play Brighton at Old Trafford on August 7 to kick off their Premier League campaign.
