in , , , , ,

Manchester United need to offload Anthony Martial to secure £178m move for Cristiano Ronaldo – Report

Cristiano Ronaldo left United for Real Madrid
Cristiano Ronaldo during his Real Madrid days
Cristiano Ronaldo

Manchester United are planning to make a staggering bid to bring Cristiano Ronaldo back to the club but have to sell Anthony Martial in order to fund a move for the Real Madrid superstar.

Jose Mourinho is expected to bring in quality reinforcements in the summer to reduce the gulf between league leaders and cross-town rivals, Manchester City.

City, who have spent over £250m this season, have been in blistering form since the start of the campaign and have blown teams left, right and centre in the league as well as in Europe.

Pep Guardiola has already lifted the League Cup – his first trophy in England – after beating Arsenal at Wembley last month. And with league all but wrapped up by his team, the Spaniard is heavily focused on bagging the Champions League following his side’s entry into the quarter-finals earlier this week.

Real Madrid, on the other hand, could be in for a massive overhaul in the summer after falling way behind league leaders and arch-rivals, Barcelona.

At first, it appeared as if Real would find it difficult to break into the top-four but they have fought back hard to be third in the standings and also qualify for the Champions League’s quarter-finals, courtesy Cristiano Ronaldo’s sumptuous form of late.

The Portuguese hit-man hasn’t been at his breathtaking best this season but has somehow been vital to changing the team’s fortunes lately. He has scored 31 goals in 33 appearances and scored in the 2-1 win over Paris Saint-Germain in the Champions League earlier this week.

But as usual, there have been rumours that Ronaldo wants to end his time at Bernabeu and return to United in the summer.

And according to Spanish website El Gol Digital, the Premier League heavyweights will have to offload Martial to fund a move for the Portuguese superstar.

Martial has started just one of United’s last four games and has seemingly fallen down the pecking order since the arrival of Alexis Sanchez from Arsenal in January.

The Frenchman has impressed this season, scoring 9 goals and assisting a further 5 times in 26 appearances. But having fallen down the pecking order, Martial’s future remains uncertain.

The report states that United have to cough up around £178m to lure Ronaldo away from Real.

I just don’t find any need for United to spend sky-high for bringing Ronaldo back to our club. Martial is doing commendably well and Mourinho should continue trusting him.

Written by Rohan Sengupta

Jose Mourinho at blame for Depay's exit?

‘For me it is just a big match’ Jose Mourinho talks about the Liverpool game and gives the latest team news

Marcus Rashford

Here’s how the Manchester United stars fared in their 2-1 win vs Liverpool – Rashford 8.5/10, Sanchez 5/10