The Portugal great wants to play Champions League football next season
(Image credit: PA)
Manchester United striker Cristiano Ronaldo has reportedly asked to be allowed to leave if a Champions League club makes an offer to sign him this summer.
The 37-year-old is the all-time top scorer in European football’s top club competition with 140 goals.
But the Red Devils won’t be competing in the tournament next season, after finishing sixth in the Premier League in 2021/22.
According to the Times, Ronaldo has requested that the club don’t stand in his way if a satisfactory offer comes in for him during the current transfer window.
(Image credit: Getty)
The Portugal star wants to be competing in the Champions League football for the rest of his career, having featured in 19 consecutive campaigns since leaving Sporting CP for Old Trafford in 2003.
Ronaldo believes he can continue to compete at the very top level for another “three or four years” and doesn’t want to play Europa League football next term.
He returned to United for a second spell last summer after three years with Juventus, and has one more year left on his deal at Old Trafford.
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The Portuguese forward was the Red Devils’ top scorer in 2021/22 with 24 goals in all competitions, including six in six Champions League games.
However, a sixth-place finish was the result of a disappointing league campaign and resulted in speculation about Ronaldo’s future.
Bayern Munich and Chelsea are among the clubs to have been linked with the striker this summer.
Alasdair Mackenzie is a freelance journalist based in Rome, and a FourFourTwo contributor since 2015. When not pulling on the FFT shirt, he can be found at Reuters, The Times and the i. An Italophile since growing up on a diet of Football Italia on Channel 4, he now counts himself among thousands of fans sharing a passion for Ross County and Lazio.
