Cristiano Ronaldo is intent on departing Manchester United before the end of the summer transfer window with his agent Jorge Mendes desperately trying to secure his Old Trafford exit.
The Portuguese superstar remains determined to depart the Red Devils this summer after just one season back at Old Trafford following his high-profile return from Juventus last year after 12 years away – but despite him declaring the intention over two months ago, he has not been able to secure a departure.
The 37-year-old was dropped to the bench for United’s spirited defeat of Liverpool last week and remained out of the line-up for Saturday’s victory at Southampton. Marcus Rashford, Jadon Sancho, Anthony Elanga and Anthony Martial are among those who appear to be more favoured by boss Erik ten Hag in attack, with Ronaldo appearing to have no future in the starting XI.
Ronaldo was left "upset" at seeing his pay slashed at United after each member of the squad was hit with a 25 per cent cut to their weekly wage – with the 37-year-old, who is the club’s highest earner, seeing the greatest impact to his pay packet. That was due to the club’s failure to qualify for the Champions League, which Ronaldo is desperate to continue participating in.
One option that has emerged for Ronaldo in recent days is Napoli, with his agent Mendes telling the Italian club that United would be willing to offer €100million (£84million) to sign their striker Victor Osimhen, which would open up the possibility of the Portuguese moving the other way.
The details are outlined in a report by Corriere della Sera, who say that Osimhen is valued by Napoli at €130million but they would be willing to reduce his asking price if they were to land Ronaldo in exchange. However, there is one caveat: Napoli could only afford to pay 25 per cent of Ronaldo’s wages.
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Napoli are an option for the player as they offer Champions League football and the opportunity to compete for major honours. Furthermore, Ronaldo is familiar with Serie A following his three seasons at Juventus.
Another option for Ronaldo is his former club, Sporting CP. Sport Witness cite a report from Portuguese outlet Correio da Manhã which claims that Sporting president Frederico Varandas is ‘not giving up’ on a remarkable deal to bring Ronaldo back to the club.
A year ago, Ronaldo’s mother Dolores Aveiro vowed to speak to her son over a potential move back to Sporting from Juventus prior to his eventual return to Old Trafford. Reports that Sporting had made initial contact over a sensational move for Ronaldo first began to circulate last month.
Ronaldo enjoyed just one full season as a Sporting player, in the 2002-03 campaign, with the Lisbon club suffering a long title drought while he won trophy after trophy at United, Real Madrid and Juventus. Last year, Sporting won their first Portuguese league title since 2002 and finished second last season, ranking ahead of fierce city rivals Benfica.
Sporting CP sporting director Hugo Viana has recently told Sky Sports of a possible return of Ronaldo: "I think not now - I don't think it is possible, but you never know. He can decide where he goes, but you never know the future. I don't want to talk about that, but he has another year on his contract so whatever he decides, let's see."
