Manchester United's top scorer from last season has told the club he wants to leave
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Manchester United talisman Cristiano Ronaldo may be forced to stay at Old Trafford despite his desire to leave.
The Portugal international told United of his wish to depart shortly before the club embarked on its pre-season tour of Thailand and Australia.
Ronaldo has not travelled with his team-mates due to a "family issue", while his agent Jorge Mendes has been working hard to find him new employers.
However, Ronaldo is running out of options and it is looking increasingly likely that he will have to remain with the Red Devils for the 2022/23 campaign.
Bayern Munich sporting director Hasan Salihamidzic has distanced the German giants from reports which suggested they were considering a swoop for Ronaldo as a replacement for the Barcelona-bound Robert Lewandowski.
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"I have a lot of respect for Cristiano Ronaldo, his successes and his career," Salihamidzic told Sport1. "But once again: that was and is not a topic for us”.
Chelsea manager Thomas Tuchel has also ruled his side out of a move for the former Real Madrid star.
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"If we considered his name… well he’s a fantastic player he is a fantastic player for another fantastic club in our competition in the Premier League," he said.
"Out of respect we don’t comment on these players because we don’t like other coaches to speak about our players. This is where this has to stay.
"We focused on our top target Raheem Sterling who we signed and everything else stays behind closed doors."
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Paris Saint-Germain had already rejected the opportunity to sign Ronaldo because they do not have space in their wage bill.
The United forward reportedly has a lucrative offer from Saudi Arabia, which would see him earn £125m per year for representing an unnamed top-flight club.
But the Daily Mail writes that Ronaldo is not interested in moving to the Middle East and is set to reject that offer.
With the new Premier League season just around the corner, Ronaldo might have to accept that he will be a United player for at least one more campaign.
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Greg Lea is a freelance football journalist who's filled in wherever FourFourTwo needs him since 2014. He became a Crystal Palace fan after watching a 1-0 loss to Port Vale in 1998, and once got on the scoresheet in a primary school game against Wilfried Zaha's Whitehorse Manor (an own goal in an 8-0 defeat).
