Transfer News: Cristiano Ronaldo looks to stay at Manchester United this season
According to Pedro Almeida via Twitter (h/t Manchester Evening News), Cristiano Ronaldo has accepted that he will have to stay at Manchester United this season.
He says that the imminent arrival of Casemiro played a very important role in the Portuguese making his decision. United have agreed in principle to sign the Real Madrid midfielder this summer.
This is likely to come as good news to Erik ten Hag and the fans. Ronaldo had requested last month that he be allowed to leave. He wanted to continue playing in the Champions League, in what could be the twilight years of his glorious career.
Ronaldo returned back to Old Trafford last summer. The 37-year-old who had spent six years at the club, returned back after 12 years. But sadly his homecoming season did not go according to plan.
United went on to have one of the worst seasons in their history. The club did not win any silverware and managed to somehow finish sixth on the table, subsequently qualifying for the Europa League. However, Ronaldo was the light in the overall dark team.
The Portugal captain scored 18 goals in 30 league appearances, with his goals playing a huge part in helping his side finish sixth. He missed out on the pre-season tour last month due to ‘family reasons’. It seemed that he will leave this summer, but now that looks to have changed.
Despite his age and the saga around his departure, he is still arguably the best scorer in this United side. He has played in both the games this season but is yet to find the back of the net. The 37-year-old is also likely to be an important figure in Ten Hag’s first season at Manchester.
He showed what he was about last season when he scored 24 goals for them across all competitions. At his stage, those are some sensational numbers. It is hard to see him being dropped with Marcus Rashford struggling for form and Anthony Martial’s latest injury.
More Manchester United News
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- Atletico Madrid forward Yannick Carrasco identified as target to strengthen Manchester United attack
- Manchester United declined opportunity to sign Juventus midfielder Weston McKennie after Adrien Rabiot deal collapsed
United are yet to open their account this season, having lost both their games. They face a challenging task ahead, hosting Liverpool this Monday. Maybe the trio of Ronaldo, Casemiro and Raphael Varane could help United win glory as they did at Real Madrid.
