Manchester United are hoping to keep hold of the Portugal international this summer
(Image credit: Getty Images)
Manchester United have received a boost in their bid to keep hold of Cristiano Ronaldo, according to reports.
The Portugal international informed the club that he wishes to depart this summer.
Ronaldo only returned to Old Trafford in 2021 but he has already grown disillusioned with life as a United player.
The Red Devils finished sixth in the Premier League last term, which means they will be absent from the Champions League in the upcoming campaign.
Ronaldo, who has been crowned a European champion at club level five times, has his eyes on a sixth Champions League winner's medal.
(Image credit: Getty Images)
However, the 37-year-old and his agent Jorge Mendez are struggling to find a buyer for the five-time Ballon d'Or winner.
Paris Saint-Germain do not have space in their wage bill for another high-earning superstar on top of Kylian Mbappe, Lionel Messi and Neymar.
Get FourFourTwo Newsletter
The best features, fun and footballing quizzes, straight to your inbox every week.
Chelsea were linked with Ronaldo but appear to have moved on to other targets, while United were reluctant to sell their talisman to a Premier League rival.
Bayern Munich are the latest club to rule themselves out of a move for the Portuguese following the departure of Robert Lewandowski.
And another potential destination, Sporting CP, has been dismissed by Ronaldo himself.
(Image credit: Getty)
The former Real Madrid forward took to Instagram to dismiss speculation suggesting he was about to return to his first club.
Ronaldo branded the report from Sport TV as "fake", with United growing increasingly confident of keeping hold of him.
"We are planning for Cristiano Ronaldo for the season and that's it," Erik ten Hag said recently.
"I'm looking forward to working with him. Cristiano is not for sale. He is in our plans and we want success together."
Ronaldo is absent from United's pre-season tour of Singapore and Australia due to a "family issue".
Ten Hag's side will take on Crystal Palace at the Melbourne Cricket Ground on Tuesday.
Thank you for reading 5 articles this month* Join now for unlimited access
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).
