Manchester United are now ready to allow Cristiano Ronaldo leave Old Trafford in the January window, according to reports.
The 37-year-old pushed to leave United in the summer as he wanted to sign for a Champions League club but a move failed to materialise.
Ronaldo’s future at United has looked in doubt since the start of the campaign as he has started just one of the club’s seven Premier League matches so far.
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Erik ten Hag and United were adamant that Ronaldo would not be sold in the summer, but according to The Telegraph, both the club and manager have agreed to let him depart if a suitable offer arrives in January.
The report claims that Ronaldo is still hoping to leave the club before the end of the season but has remained ‘highly professional’ despite his lack of playing time under Ten Hag.
Ronaldo was left on the bench for United’s 6-3 defeat to Manchester City at the Etihad on Sunday, with Ten Hag admitting that he didn’t want to disrespect him by bringing him on as a substitute when they were trailing by four goals by half time.
Chelsea could now revisit a deal for Ronaldo this winter after co-owner Todd Boehly considered a move in the summer before it was opposed by Thomas Tuchel, who has now been replaced by Graham Potter.
It’s believed that Ronaldo received a concrete offer from Saudi Arabian side Al-Hilal worth in excess of £200m, but he rejected a move.
Ronaldo was also offered to Real Madrid, Barcelona, Paris Saint-Germain and Bayern but all four clubs were not interested.
Speaking after the 6-3 defeat to City, former United skipper Roy Keane accused the club of ‘disrespecting’ Ronaldo by keeping him in the summer.
‘I think he should’ve been let go before the transfer window [closed],’ Keane told Sky Sports.
‘I think the manager holding onto him, okay, you say you need options, but if you don’t hold onto Ronaldo to sit on the bench.
‘He’s one of the greatest players ever, he had options, this idea that he had no options is rubbish. He did have options, four or five very good options.
‘Okay, today, the manager brought Martial on, who scored two, so yeah that’s justified. But generally speaking, the bigger picture, he’s not going to play Ronaldo, we know that. He’s played in one or two European games, it’s just going to get uglier as the season goes on.
‘Okay, Ronaldo’s motivated with the World Cup coming up. But if he’s sitting on the bench for Man United week in week out, it’s not good. It’s just going to get ugly.
‘I think United have shown nothing but disrespect to Ronaldo, they should’ve let him go when the opportunity came.’
