Just when you thought Manchester United’s summer transfer window couldn’t get any worse, the bottom drops out again. Cristiano Ronaldo has continued his holdout of United’s summer training camp, as manager Erik ten Hag held a double session today.
Ronaldo has now missed the first three days of camp, with what is officially being labeled “family issues,” and it is all but certain that he doesn’t get on the plane with the rest of the team to head out on their summer preseason tour tomorrow.
As had been previously reported, CR7 wants a transfer away because he’s frustrated by the team’s lack of transfer window ambition and he doesn’t feel secure about United’s chances of competing for trophies this upcoming season. (So he certainly seems to match the sentiments of the fan base right now). And now we have yet another understandable reason of why he wants an Old Trafford exit: reports of a potential salary cut.
That is absolutely NOT what you do to your leading scorer and face of the franchise. Ronaldo was the only United player to make the PFA team of the year last season.
“I understand the frustrations,” said club legend and media pundit Rio Ferdinand.
“I definitely would be frustrated.”
So where does he go, if/when he leaves? He’s been linked to Chelsea, and now that narrative is gaining steam once again. Even though United insist he is not for sale. (Eventually, they may have to change their stance and accept the inevitable.
BREAKING: Chelsea ‘preparing £14 million bid’ for Manchester United forward Cristiano Ronaldo pic.twitter.com/55EBGCtFQp
— SPORTbible (@sportbible) July 7, 2022
While Chelsea could be a possibility, Bayern Munich will not be. CEO Oliver Kahn has ruled it out.
“As highly as I rate Cristiano Ronaldo as one of the greatest, a transfer wouldn’t be a fit with our philosophy,” he told German magazine Kicker.
Ronaldo was voted by supporters to be the club’s greatest player of the Premier League era, he deserves the utmost respect, and he still has one year left on his current deal.
Paul M. Banks is the owner/manager of The Bank (TheSportsBank.Net) and author of “Transatlantic Passage: How the English Premier League Redefined Soccer in America,” as well as “No, I Can’t Get You Free Tickets: Lessons Learned From a Life in the Sports Media Industry.”
He has regularly appeared in WGN, Sports Illustrated and the Chicago Tribune, and he co-hosts the After Extra Time podcast, part of Edge of the Crowd Network. Follow him on Twitter and Instagram.