Former Manchester United player reveals Cristiano Ronaldo is ignoring his calls amid exit rumours

Cristiano Ronaldo’s wish to leave Manchester United after only a year has passed on his contract is quickly becoming the central story of this summer’s football transfer market. However, it is one which is full of questions and uncertainties, with not one stand-out suitor for the signature of the Portuguese legend, and with United’s new manager Erik ten Hag’s stance on the matter unclear. Also Read | Cristiano Ronaldo’s one-word reply to rumours he could leave Manchester United to join Sporting

Former United player and Ronaldo’s teammate for club and country Luis Nani revealed that it is difficult for anyone to get in contact with Ronaldo at the moment, leaving even some of his closest allies in the footballing world in the dark.

Speaking to The Mirror, Nani said, “When he’s on vacation he doesn’t answer the phone to anybody! I tried to talk to him, but he said ‘I’m so busy now, we’ll talk soon’.” Ronaldo returned to United after 12 years away from the club, but it wasn’t a happy one: Ronaldo did score 18 Premier League goals, but it was a disappointing season for United as they slid from second to sixth, missing out on the Champions League next year. This is reported as one of the major reasons the 37-year-old wishes to part ways, with the pursuit of silverware a major factor.

Nani, who was Ronaldo’s wing partner in the last year of his original spell at United, and then with Portugal for over a decade, continued, “He’s an important player and a player who always makes a difference. I hope he’s in a good mood to help the club, so hopefully he’ll stay.”

Ronaldo has a massive and faithful following in Manchester, a large reason why he decided to join them from Juventus last summer. However, that might not be enough to ask him to spend a year chasing the Europa League, when greater glories could potentially await elsewhere.

However, Ronaldo has struggled to convince any other club to sign him, with those able to afford him either not requiring his services, or unwilling to take on board everything that follows a player of Ronaldo’s stature. While he is still one of the biggest names in the sport, his abilities are on the wane, if only because of age.

Ronaldo has also not joined United’s team on the preseason tour of Australia, where they played against Nani’s current team, Melbourne Victory, last week. After United ran out 4-1 winners, Nani said, “I hope the club can get back to the position where they belong and start winning all the trophies again that we are missing so much.”

It is unclear to many whether Ronaldo sees himself as part of that future, but he might well need to see out his 2-year contract at the English club if he does not find a club willing to buy him this summer. It is certainly going to be a deal which makes waves, and is one to keep an eye out for.

United will meanwhile prepare for two more matches in Australia, against PL opposition in the shape of Crystal Palace and Aston Villa. They will then return to Europe for two more warm-up games, before which the season truly gets underway. Ten Hag will be hoping his Ronaldo issue is sorted out, one way or the other, by that time.