CRIS ME QUICK Man Utd will NOT sell Cristiano Ronaldo to Chelsea but Erik ten Hag wants quick resolution after shock transfer request

ERIK TEN HAG wants Cristiano Ronaldo’s Manchester United future to be resolved quickly — before it turns into a full-blown saga.

Posted Wednesday, July 06, 2022 by Thesun.co.uk

But United are determined not to let him leave for a Prem rival, despite interest from Chelsea.

CRIS ME QUICK Man Utd will NOT sell Cristiano Ronaldo to Chelsea but Erik ten Hag wants quick resolution after shock transfer request
Ronaldo's representatives have made it clear he would like to leave the club Credit: AFP

CRIS ME QUICK Man Utd will NOT sell Cristiano Ronaldo to Chelsea but Erik ten Hag wants quick resolution after shock transfer request
Ten Hag is worried the drama will destroy pre-season preparations Credit: Getty

Ronaldo, 37, missed training for a second day on Tuesday due to "family reasons".

United have accepted the explanation and promised to give him all the time he needs.

Ronaldo’s representatives have made it clear he would like to leave Old Trafford this summer to join a Champions League club.

And United remain in the dark over when he will be back – or whether he will be on the plane for their pre-season tour to Thailand and Australia on Friday afternoon.

The Red Devils continue to insist their legendary star is not for sale and they expect him to see out the final 12 months of his contract.

But Ten Hag is concerned the noise surrounding Ronaldo will affect his preparations for the new season – with all his other players now back.

United made their first breakthrough of the transfer window yesterday when they snapped up £12.9million full-back Tyrell Malacia.

He is likely to be quickly followed by midfielder Christian Eriksen – while Frenkie de Jong, Lisandro Martinez and Antony are also targets.

But doubts over Ronaldo’s future are threatening to overshadow the new arrivals.

Ten Hag had plans over how he could best utilise the veteran forward in the season ahead and was looking forward to working with him.

But he knows it would leave them short in the goal-scoring department if Ronaldo – who scored 24 times last season – does manage to engineer his way out.

And already the options to replace him are limited - with former targets Erling Haaland and Darwin Nunez heading to the Prem with rival clubs.

It would either mean a rethink on how to spend this summer’s budget or giving yet another chance to Marcus Rashford or Anthony Martial down the middle.

Bayern Munich could make a move if Robert Lewandowski gets his wish to leave – while Napoli and Barcelona are also interested.

Bayern legend Lothas Matthaus said: “Ronaldo to Bayern would be sexy.

"If Bayern are of the opinion that Ronaldo is still physically able to really help for a year or two and that they can invest the transfer fee generated for Lewandowski more or less like-for-like, I would think about it.

"He’s one of the best strikers of all-time and would certainly score around 30 goals.”