Manchester United will allow Cristiano Ronaldo to leave Old Trafford in the January transfer window, according to reports.
The 37-year-old insisted on leaving United in the summer because he wanted to join one of the other clubs Champions League club, but a move has not materialized.
Ronaldo’s future at United has been increasingly questioned since the start of the season, as he has only started one of the club’s seven Premier League games to date.
Erik ten Hag and United were adamant that Ronaldo would not be sold in the summer, but according to The TelegraphBoth the club and the manager have agreed to let the Portugal international leave if a suitable offer is made in January.
The report says Ronaldo still hopes to leave United before the end of the season, but has remained “very professional” despite his lack of playing time under Ten Hag.
Ronaldo stayed on the bench on Sunday for United’s 6-3 defeat to Manchester City at the Etihad Stadium. with Ten Hag admitting he didn’t want to disrespect the 37-year-old by using him as a substitute when the team trailed four goals at halftime.
Chelsea could potentially revisit a deal for Ronaldo this winter after co-owner Todd Boehly contemplated a transfer over the summer before being opposed by Thomas Tuchel, who has now been replaced by Graham Potter.
It is clear that Ronaldo has received a concrete offer of more than £200m from Saudi Arabian side Al-Hilal, but he turned down a move.
Ronaldo was also offered to Real Madrid, Barcelona, Paris Saint-Germain and Bayern Munich, but all four clubs were not interested.
After City’s 6-3 defeat, former United captain Roy Keane accused the club of ‘disrespecting’ Ronaldo by keeping him in the summer.
“I think he should have gone for the transfer window” [closed],’ Keane told Sky Sports.
“I think the manager holding him, okay, you say you need options, but if you don’t hold Ronaldo to sit on the bench.
“He is one of the best players ever, he had options, the idea that he had no options is nonsense. He did have options, four or five really good options.
“Okay, today the manager brought in Martial, who scored two, so that’s right. But overall, the bigger picture, he’s not going to play against Ronaldo, we know that. He has played in one or two European matches, it only gets uglier as the season goes on.
“Okay, Ronaldo is motivated with the World Cup approaching. But if he’s on the bench for Man United week after week, that’s not good. It just gets ugly.
“I think United have shown nothing but respect for Ronaldo, they should have let him go when the opportunity presented itself.”
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