Cristiano Ronaldo is 'motivated' to help Manchester United have a successful season after failing to secure a deadline-day transfer to AC Milan.
Almost two months ago, the 37-year-old megastar made his feelings clear to United and explained how he wanted to leave this summer. But with transfer window now shut, he'll definitely to remain a Red Devil - at least until January. Ronaldo still had a glimpse of hope at the eleventh hour, though, and it came from San Siro.
As reported by the MEN, a theory emerged that Milan could make a move for the United legend if they lost Rafael Leao, who'd been tipped to join Chelsea. However, the 23-year-old forward - a teammate of Ronaldo's at international level for Portugal - was ultimately deemed too expensive for the Blues, as AC slapped a whopping £130m price tag on Leao's head.
With Milan no longer needing to prepare a replacement as negotiations quickly ceased, Ronaldo has been left without a suitor after suffering rejection from Chelsea, Bayern Munich, Atletico Madrid and Napoli earlier in the window. But Red Devils supporters can be pleased to learn that the Old Trafford icon is reportedly ready to knuckle down in Manchester for another campaign.
Sky Sport Italia claim that Ronaldo has warmed to the idea of playing for United in the Europa League this term, despite his desire to maintain his record of being the all-time top goalscorer in the Champions League. Italian newspaper La Gazzetta dello Sport add that the five-time Ballon d'Or winner is now 'resigned' to staying put.
Unfortunately for Ronaldo and also on deadline day, he was named on the bench by Red Devils boss Erik ten Hag for the third game running. United travelled to Leicester City and made it three wins from as many Premier League matches, with Marcus Rashford retaining his starting place up front and Ronaldo limited to a 26-minute cameo.
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Ten Hag still insists that the former Real Madrid and Juventus talisman remains part of his plans, though, and confirmed that Ronaldo has accepted his predicament after further talks regarding his immediate future. "[We have spoken] several times, yeah. We are on one page," the Dutch tactician told a pre-match news conference. "Otherwise he [wouldn't be] here."
Ten Hag added when asked if the goalscorer supreme could adapt into his system: "The way of play sets the demands. You can see in training it's clear that he has the capabilities. So he will fit in because he's – I don't have to explain – a great player. He has great capabilities, so he will fit in every system or in every style."
