He has scored nine goals in 12 games in all competitions but, despite these fantastic numbers, the team as a whole is struggling badly.
Man Utd are already nine points off the top of the table and five outside the Champions League places.
If United fail to make the top four they run the real risk of losing Ronaldo, who isn’t prepared to miss out on Champions League football in the final years of his career.
The attacker will turn 37 in February and wants to increase his Champions League all-time scoring record, as well as challenge for another title.
So if United do fall short of the top four and Ronaldo decides to leave, who could he move to?
PSG
PSG is the most likely big-club destination if he quits Man Utd at the end of 2021-22, for a number of reasons.
First of all, the Ligue 1 giants will need to find a high-profile replacement for Kylian Mbappe, who will almost certainly leave the club on a Bosman transfer.
Secondly, Qatar is hosting the 2022 World Cup in November of next year and there is no better promotion or legitimisation for that tournament than PSG having both Ronaldo and Lionel Messi working as virtual ambassadors.
Thirdly, from a commercial point of view, Ronaldo and Messi being on the same team would break all records. It would cause tactical chaos, but PSG have shown this season they don’t care about that when making transfers.
Manchester City
Like PSG, Man City are one of the few clubs in the world that can afford Ronaldo’s current €30 million-a-year salary.
City were very close to signing Ronaldo this past summer, only to see their deal hijacked at the last minute by Man Utd.
Whether or not they would return for Cristiano after that snub remains to be seen, but City still require a natural striker having failed to sign one this year.
Tactically, Ronaldo may not fit Pep Guardiola’s pressing system but he remains one of the best at putting the ball in the back of the net.
Real Madrid
Ronaldo may be Real Madrid’s all-time leading scorer, but there appears to be little value in him returning to the Bernabeu.
Karim Benzema is one of the best strikers in the world, while Vinicius Junior is exploding as a top-class player as well.
Madrid look likely to sign Kylian Mbappe on a Bosman transfer next summer and they also could bid for Borussia Dortmund’s Erling Haaland.
There appears little space for a 37-year-old Ronaldo, but that could change if something goes wrong with Mbappe and/or Haaland.
Sporting
Ronaldo’s mother said this past summer that she will try to talk her son into returning to Sporting CP, the club at which he made his senior breakthrough before moving to Manchester United.
While it is not inconceivable that Ronaldo will one day wish to return to Portugal, having said that he can keep playing at the top level past his 40th birthday, next summer may still be a little too early for this move to take place.
Nevertheless, if Ronaldo is short on options and Sporting are in the Champions League with a reasonably competitive team, then it can’t be ruled out.
Ronaldo still will want to play at a high level
MLS
A move to Major League Soccer, which is another potential destination for Ronaldo, is also unlikely at this stage of Ronaldo’s career.
As stated in the introduction, Cristiano wishes to play in the Champions League to ensure his goalscoring records are unbeatable for years to come.
A transfer to the United States could happen in the future, although from a personal point of view this is something he may not be keen on just yet.
