Fabrizio Romano says Manchester United forward Cristiano Ronaldo delaying the decision on quitting due to Erik ten Hag

According to Fabrizio Romano (h/t Express), Manchester United forward Cristiano Ronaldo is delaying the decision to quit the club in the summer, as he awaits the arrival of incoming new manager Erik ten Hag to see what his future holds for him.

The Portugal international re-signed for the club last summer, sealing a sensational return to the side where he made his name as an international superstar after spending several years abroad in Spain and Italy with Real Madrid and Juventus respectively.

The 37-year-old may be well past the prime years of his career that we witnessed at Real, but he continued to impress and hit the ground running on his second debut for the Manchester side by scoring a double. He also made valuable contributions to the team’s route to the knockout stages of the Champions League.

However, 2022 tells a different story, as the team sits fifth in the Premier League table and is out of all other knockout tournaments, effectively seeing them end the campaign without winning a single trophy. This now means that the Red Devils have not won a trophy in five years- with the last one coming under Jose Mourinho.

Champions League status crucial

Despite signing a two-year deal with United upon his return, Ronaldo’s future at the club is heavily dependent on the side’s Champions League status. It is unclear as to whether the Old Trafford outfit will manage to grab a top-four spot by the summer, given how inconsistent they have been. It is said that he may consider his future elsewhere, especially if he has other suitors.

Now, Romano has claimed that the player is currently focused on helping his team grab the fourth spot by the end of the season and is waiting to learn about what plans and vision ten Hag has in mind before taking a final call on whether he wants to stay and lead the frontline at the start of a new era.

Although his form has been patchy since the turn of the new year, there is no doubting that we are a better team with Ronaldo in it. He offers a different dimension to the attack, and in games, he has been injured, we have offered close to nothing in terms of goals.

Our last game bore witness to a hat-trick from the Portugal international, silencing his critics and delivering when it mattered most. It is his second hat-trick this year, having earlier scored one against Tottenham Hotspur in the league.

Given that he is arguably one of the greatest footballers in the history of the sport, the spotlight is bound to be on him at all times and those that envy his success would find it easy to point fingers at him when things go wrong for his club. He is a 37-year-old who has scored 21 times for us this term and is arguably the reason we are still in with a shout for a top-four finish.

More Manchester United News

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• Manchester United are targeting a centre-back in the upcoming summer transfer window
• Real Madrid are possibly looking at Manchester United striker Edinson Cavani as a backup option in the next transfer window

Regardless of whether the No. 7 is in the team next season or not, Romano also claimed that United will sign a young striker at the end of the season. Given that our current forward options are 37-year-old Ronaldo and 35-year-old Edinson Cavani, this should come as no surprise.

Given how crucial he is to our team’s goal-scoring chances, we should try to grab a UCL qualification spot at the end of the season at all costs. ten Hag’s arrival in the summer signals a wave of significant changes in the club’s fortunes, and we will be better off with Ronaldo in his team to achieve glory under the Dutchman next term.