Manchester United report: Club will not block Cristiano Ronaldo exit in January

Manchester United(opens in new tab) will not stop Cristiano Ronaldo from leaving the club in January, according to reports.

The Portuguese icon’s United future has been the subject of speculation ever since he informed the club in July that he wanted to move on(opens in new tab).

An exit never came to fruition, but The Telegraph(opens in new tab) claim that Ronaldo will be allowed to depart during the next transfer window should a suitable offer come in.

Chelsea(opens in new tab), Napoli(opens in new tab) and Bayern Munich(opens in new tab) were all said to be interested in signing Ronaldo this summer(opens in new tab) – while Saudi champions Al-Hilal recently revealed that they “negotiated with” the 37-year-old but were impeded by a transfer ban(opens in new tab).

Ronaldo re-joined United from Juventus(opens in new tab) in August last year, 12 years after leaving Old Trafford for Real Madrid(opens in new tab).

But his second spell at the club where he first made a name for himself the best part of two decades ago has often been less than harmonious. Despite scoring a squad-high 24 goals in all competitions last season, many have argued that Ronaldo has hindered the overall performance of the team.

Having finished as runners-up to Manchester City in 2020/21, United dropped to sixth in the Premier League last term under Ralf Rangnick – who replaced Ole Gunnar Solskjaer in December.

After an abysmal start to 2022/23 under new manager Erik ten Hag, United kickstarted their season with victory over Liverpool, sparking a four-match winning run – with Ronaldo, who has made only one league start this term, coming on as a substitute in each game.

But Sunday’s 6-3 derby humiliation away to Manchester City(opens in new tab) showed how far they still have to go in order to compete for top honours again. During the game at the Etihad Stadium, Ronaldo cut a frustrated figure as he was left on the bench.

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After seeing his side lose the highest-scoring Manchester derby of all time(opens in new tab), Erik ten Hag explained that he opted not to bring Ronaldo on out of respect for his career(opens in new tab).

Could Ronaldo be one of two big-name attacking players on their way out of Old Trafford in the near future? Marcus Rashford has been linked with a sensational switch to Barcelona next summer(opens in new tab).

Meanwhile, United legend Gary Neville has said that he feels David de Gea’s days as Red Devils number are numbered because the goalkeeper doesn’t suit Ten Hag’s style(opens in new tab).