CRISTIANO RONALDO told Manchester United chiefs “let me leave” during showdown talks at Carrington yesterday.
As SunSport reported on Monday, the Portuguese jetted back to Manchester this week to reiterate his stance that he wants to depart Old Trafford this summer.
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Man United had been hoping to convince Ronaldo that he should stay and be a part of Erik ten Hag’s new look side.
But The Times report that the veteran forward remains desperate to leave Old Trafford in the coming weeks.
They add that the 37-year-old’s primary reason for wanting to leave is his desire to play in the Champions League.
Ronaldo wants to make it a 20th consecutive campaign in Europe’s premier competition.
Despite the Portuguese star making his desires clear, United have maintained that he is NOT for sale.
The Red Devils want their No7 to be a key part of Ten Hag’s squad this season.
During talks with Ronaldo and his agent Jorge Mendes at Carrington yesterday, club chiefs outlined the forward’s importance and role within their vision.
The former Real Madrid star has been encouraged by apparent interest from Atletico and Bayern Munich, however, and still wants to cut short his Old Trafford return.
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Despite the saga surrounding his future, Ronaldo has finally trained under Ten Hag at Carrington after skipping his side’s pre-season tour of Thailand and Australia.
Today he watched from the sidelines as United beat Wrexham 4-1 in a behind-closed-doors friendly.
While he didn’t feature, new signings Lisandro Martinez and Christian Eriksen did – with the latter even getting on the scoresheet.
While Ronaldo sees Atletico as a potential escape route, their fans aren’t so keen on the idea.
Atleti supporters launched an online campaign against signing their former rival.
And fans unfurled an anti-CR7 banner at their pre-season friendly at Numancia.
It read: “CR7 not welcome”.
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