What Ronaldo told Man Utd during showdown talks
FT Desk
- 27 Jul 2022 16:40 CDT
- 3 min read
Cristiano Ronaldo told Manchester United that he wants to leave the club this summer - and explained his reasons why – during Tuesday’s showdown talks at Carrington.
Ronaldo finally flew into Manchester this week to discuss his future with the club’s bosses.
He turned up to the club’s Carrington training ground on Tuesday together with agent Jorge Mendes for a face-to-face meeting with directors and manager Erik ten Hag.
According to Duncan Castles, who is known to be very close to Mendes, Ronaldo again reiterated in the meeting that he wants to leave Man Utd.
Ronaldo explained the reasons why. The first reason is Ronaldo wants to play for a Champions League club and wants to play in the competition for a 20th successive season. He holds the record for goals, assists and appearances and wants to increase these figures.
The second reason is a personal one related to wanting to relocate his family away from Manchester.
Manchester United countered Ronaldo’s request by reiterating that they want to keep him and that Ten Hag considers him a key player.
United have however granted Mendes permission to speak to other clubs, although there has been no concrete offers despite interest from Atletico Madrid and Bayern Munich.
Ronaldo rejects Saudi Arabia
The Times adds that Ronaldo rejected a €300 million two-year contract from Saudi Arabia’s Pro League.
Ronaldo has now returned to training with Man Utd, having missed the entire pre-season tour of Thailand and Australia for family reasons.
Cristiano returned to Man Utd last summer after 12 years away in a much-publicised transfer from Juventus.
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The superstar was aiming to bring the glory days back to Old Trafford and challenge for major trophies.
However, despite impressing individually with 24 goals in 38 games, Man Utd endured the worst season in the club’s Premier League history.
