Cristiano Ronaldo: Casemiro and Antony prompt transfer U-turn
Robin Bairner
- 31 Aug 2022 08:28 BST
- 3 min read
Cristiano Ronaldo has had a rethink on his Manchester United future following the arrivals of Casemiro and Antony at the club, according to a report.
The Red Devils have acted late in the transfer market to secure the two Brazil internationals, with Casemiro arriving from Real Madrid and Antony joining from Ajax for a fee that could rise to €100 million – making it the second biggest deal in the history of the Old Trafford club.
The Sun reports that these deals have played a role in changing the mind of Ronaldo, who had spent the summer pushing to leave Man Utd. The club now believes that he wants to stay.
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Manager Erik ten Hag is thought to be open with working with Ronaldo, despite leaving him on the bench for the club’s Premier League victories over Liverpool and Southampton. A lack of alternative options in attack leave the Dutchman little choice.
Indeed, while Ronaldo’s stance may have changed, it only comes at a time when a transfer away was looking like a hopeless prospect in any case. His agent, Jorge Mendes, has been rebuffed by club after club this summer and there was no obvious solution to the transfer impasse.
Is Ronaldo really happy at Man Utd?
FootballTransfers’ understanding of the situation is that Ronaldo’s unhappiness with Man Utd is retrospective. He is unhappy about how standards have fallen across the board and there is no clear indication to suggest that he is any more content now than he was at the start of the window, when he began actively seeking a transfer.
Certainly, these signings do little to change the fact that Ronaldo will not play Champions League football at Old Trafford this season.
It may be that this change of stance is instead a shift in the public stance of the 37-year-old just 48 hours before the transfer window closes.
Either way, it looks increasingly certain that Ronaldo will not be leaving Manchester United this summer.
