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Manchester United are expecting Cristiano Ronaldo to stay at Old Trafford in the upcoming January transfer window in spite of his desire to leave the club in search of Champions League football, according to reports. The five-time Ballon d’Or winner was desperate to be sold over the summer but ultimately ended up staying in Manchester, with a lack of suitable offers forcing him to remain at United.
Ronaldo has since been dropped to a bit-part role by Erik ten Hag, who has named the Portuguese winger on the bench in each of United’s last five Premier League matches. He remains eager to leave the club and would be happy to depart in January, but those in power at Old Trafford are fully expecting him to stay put until the end of the season, according to ESPN.
It is said that United believe that a lack of external interest in Ronaldo’s services will see him remain on their books until the expiry of his contract next summer. Chelsea, Napoli and Bayern Munich were credited with a desire to land the 37-year-old over the summer but did not submit any official bids, with United only receiving one firm offer from a club in Saudi Arabia that was swiftly turned down by the player himself.
There is an acceptance that Chelsea’s stance on a move for Ronaldo may have changed following the appointment of Graham Potter, who replaced Thomas Tuchel in the dugout at Stamford Bridge last month. However, the Blues signed Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang over the summer to boost their attacking ranks and are thought to be unlikely to chase Ronaldo’s signature when the transfer market reopens in January.
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The report adds that Ten Hag is understanding of Ronaldo’s desire to seek a new challenge away from United but is reluctant to let him leave at the turn of the year. This is because the Dutchman is not expected to have any money to spend until the end of the season after splashing over £215million on new players over the course of the summer window.
Ronaldo has only scored one goal for United since the beginning of the season, with his only strike coming from the penalty spot against FC Sheriff in the Europa League last month. It remains to be seen whether he will manage to force his way out of United against the odds in January, with the former Real Madrid and Juventus man set to leave the club when his contract expires at the end of the campaign as things stand.
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Ten Hag, meanwhile, recently admitted that Ronaldo has been furious over his new role on the bench in recent weeks but insisted that he is still training well and remains determined to work his way back into the side as a matter of priority.
“He is not happy he didn’t play on Sunday [against Manchester City],” the United boss told reporters earlier this week. “The question was what happens on the training pitch, there he is happy,.
“But he is ****** off when he is not playing, that is clear. I don’t see he’s unhappy, he’s happy, he’s training well, he’s enjoying it. Everyone is training well, there’s a good spirit, that’s not the point, it’s important as it’s a base to work well.”
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