Cristiano Ronaldo is still on the books at Manchester United following the summer transfer window, but the Portuguese veteran is grappling with the fallout of his failed transfer request.
The 37-year-old dropped a bombshell on new Old Trafford chief Erik ten Hag when he made it clear that he wanted to quit the club following their calamitous Premier League campaign, however, the blockbuster move that Ronaldo craved failed to materialise before the September 1 deadline.
While there is a multitude of factors behind Ronaldo’s desire to cut his second spell at United short, the club’s failure to qualify for the Champions League is believed to be the primary reason behind Ronaldo’s attempts to engineer a move.
Since he initially joined Manchester United at the age of 18, Ronaldo has featured in Europe’s premier competition every single year and is the competition’s all-time leading goalscorer with 140 goals.
But Ronaldo’s remarkable run of 19 consecutive years of playing in the Champions League has now come to an abrupt end – and as a result, his prized European record could be under threat from Lionel Messi.
The Argentine superstar and Ronaldo are widely recognised as the two finest players of their generation, with Messi second in the Champions League scoring ranks behind only Ronaldo.
