(Football news) Cristiano Ronaldo has asked to leave Manchester United amidst concerns about the club’s ambition to compete for the highest honours. The Portuguese superstar has played in the Champions League for 19 consecutive seasons but will be forced to play in the Europa League should he remain with the Red Devils in the 2022/23 season. Moreover, Manchester United’s lack of transfer activity has convinced Ronaldo that winning trophies next season would be an unrealistic prospect.

As things stand, thirteen players have left Manchester United this summer but the club have not signed a new player yet. While Feyenoord’s Tyler Malacia is currently undergoing a medical at Carrington, the club needs wholesale changes to have a squad capable of competing for the highest honours. Ronaldo, being in the twilight of his career, understandably doesn’t want to wait for a rebuild and is looking for a move elsewhere in order to win trophies. The 37 year old respects Manchester United a lot and is “in love” with the club and it’s fans but is not keen on playing in the Europa League for the first time in his career.

However, Manchester United have reiterated that Ronaldo is not for sale and is contractually tied until the summer of 2023. The six time Ballon d'Or winner has not arrived at Carrington for training today due to “personal family reasons” and the club have accepted his explanation. It’s puzzling for Ronaldo to issue a transfer request now instead of the end of last season, which would not only give his agent Jorge Mendes plenty of time to find potential suitors but also allow Manchester United to look for strikers, a position they are understaffed in, even if Ronaldo decides to stay next season.

For the Manchester United hierarchy, especially the Glazer family, Ronaldo’s departure would be an extremely big blow. It would prove to the fans that the club have lowered expectations and are no longer interested in competing at the highest level. Ronaldo is not just important on the pitch, his commercial appeal makes him a valuable asset to Manchester United’s global reach. The Portuguese superstar was Manchester United’s only ray of light in the 2021/22 season and the club can no longer depend on Anthony Martial and Marcus Rashford to deliver the goods in Ronaldo’s absence. The 37 year old’s transfer request may lead Manchester United to accelerate the transfers of Frenkie De Jong, Lisandro Martínez and Antony in order to convince Ronaldo to remain at the club.

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