Cristiano Ronaldo is sticking to his guns on his Manchester United future (Picture: Getty Images)
Cristiano Ronaldo continues to push for a move away from Manchester United and talks have been held with Spoting Lisbon, although a deal is nowhere near completion.
The 37-year-old and his agent, Jorge Mendes, have been holding talks with the Old Trafford hierarchy but there is complete stalemate over the striker’s future.
Ronaldo is adamant that he wants to leave the club a year before the end of his contract, desperate to stay in the Champions League, but the Red Devils have no interest in selling him or cancelling his contract early.
An issue for the Portuguese legend is that no clubs are pushing to sign him, given his eye-watering wages, age and how he could impact the balance of any team he would join as he is unlikely to accept anything but a central role in a team.
The Athletic report that as Mendes searches for a Champions League home for his client, he has held talks with Ronaldo’s first club, Sporting.
However, the Portuguese club are far from convinced that it would be a sensible option to bring in the superstar.
There would be a transfer fee, given the striker has a year left on his contract, and his wages would be mammoth compared to anyone else at the club.
Manager Ruben Amorim is also believed to be concerned as to how the ageing forward would impact the dynamic on the pitch and within the wider squad.
Ronaldo is working to get fit ahead of the new season, but after missing the bulk of the summer preparations so far, he is some way behind his United teammates in fitness and in terms of taking on Erik ten Hag’s new ideas.
He may feature in a second string friendly against Rayo Vallecano at Old Trafford on Sunday, while most of the first team play Atletico Madrid in Oslo on Saturday.
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