A dark cloud remains looming over Manchester United in the form of Cristiano Ronaldo’s future. The Portugal international made it clear in the summer that he is looking for the exit door....CONTINUE READING
Ronaldo is the record goalscorer in the UEFA Champions League and wanted to continue to add to his tally. Considering Man United are not in the competition this season, the veteran was hoping to get a move elsewhere.
Unfortunately for the soon-to-be 38-year-old, no top clubs registered serious interest in prying him away from the Theatre of Dreams.
The only side who looked close to making an offer to the Red Devils were Chelsea but the former Blues boss Thomas Tuchel wasn’t as keen as the new owner Todd Boehly.
In the end, Ronaldo has been forced to remain at Old Trafford until January at the earliest. So far, he has yet to hit any kind of decent form, having scored just once this season which came from the penalty spot in a 2-0 away win against Sheriff Tiraspol in the UEFA Europa League.
Ronaldo’s contract expires at the end of the season, having initially signed a two-year deal with Man United back in 2021, keeping him at the club until the summer of 2023.
This means that, as things stand, the former Real Madrid man is free to speak to clubs outside of the Premier League in January over the possibility of reaching a pre-contract agreement to leave in ten months’ time.
Another option for Ronaldo is to actually extend his contract with Manchester United by a further year. In the player’s current deal, the Reds have the option to keep him at the club for another twelve months.
This is an option that United tend to insert in the contracts of every player in order to buy the board time to negotiate new terms. Nevertheless, according to ESPN, Ronaldo’s clause is slightly different.
The outlet are reporting that, in order for United to activate the extension clause, Ronaldo and his representatives have to agree as well. This seems unlikely at the moment given his lack of game-time under Erik ten Hag.
