Erik ten Hag has reportedly backtracked on his original stance with Cristiano Ronaldo and is now open to the idea of offloading the forward as soon as possible.
The Dutchman had initially claimed in the aftermath of his appointment that he was excited to work with a "giant" of the game. However, the 37-year-old forward's demands to leave Old Trafford have since soured the relationship between the pair.
The five-time Ballon d'Or winner has made it clear he wants out of United to join a club that he feels is better suited to his ambitions - a stunning and steep decline from all the good feelings he brought to the club during the first half of last season.
Having penned a two-year deal 12 months ago, Ronaldo took to life back at Old Trafford seamlessly, with his heroics in the Champions League especially showing he still has the golden touch on the game's biggest stage. It was actually during a game against Atalanta in that same competition that a defining moment of the forward's second United spell occurred.
After United went down by two goals, Ronaldo took it upon himself to interrupt his then-manager Ole Gunnar Solskjaer's half-time team talk. What followed was a trademark comeback, with the Portugal international netting the third late on to win the group stage game for his side.
As a result of his stunning display, a report at the time claimed many of his United teammates demanded Ronaldo be rewarded with a 'bigger role' in the dressing room due to the amazing impact his impromptu team talk had.
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The former Real Madrid man was viewed, at least back then, as someone who could bridge the gap between players and staff. Fast forward 10 months and things couldn't be further from the truth as Ronaldo's representatives continue to try and flog him to any Champions League side that will listen.
New boss Ten Hag, alongside the rest of the club hierarchy, has swiftly U-turned on his original desire to keep Ronaldo around the place and is now seemingly willing to oversee the 37-year-old's exit earlier than expected by an entire year.
Things have deteriorated so badly for Ronaldo that the Athletic claim he is currently eating alone at United's Carrington base and often only increases the divide between the rest of his teammates and himself by flapping his arms about in frustration during training.
