Legendary Manchester United boss Sir Alex Ferguson looks set to fail in his bid to persuade Cristiano Ronaldo to stay at Old Trafford next season.
As reported by the Daily Star, Ferguson, who signed Ronaldo for his first spell at the club in 2003, is understood to have spoken to Ronaldo on Tuesday about his immediate future in the wake of the Portuguese superstar informing the club he wanted to leave to play Champions League football.
Fergie, 80, was at Carrington to attend a board meeting, which coincided with Ronaldo returning to Manchester for the first time since the end of last season.
Ronaldo jetted back to Manchester from Lisbon on Monday night with his agent Jorge Mendes to hold crunch talks with Erik ten Hag and club officials, having missed the club's pre-season tour due to personal reasons. United bosses hoped Fergie, who was instrumental in luring Ronaldo back to the club last summer, could persuade his former superstar to see out the remaining 12 months of his £500,000-a-week deal.
It was a desperate roll of the dice from United, who have continued to insist Ronaldo is not for sale and will not be leaving. But the Portuguese icon is still reluctant to commit himself to one more season with United and remains determined to find a new club before the transfer window closes.
The 37-year-old told United he wanted to leave at the start of the summer, because he doesn't believe the team is good enough to compete for major trophies. And the fact he didn't train with his team-mates and turned up with Mendes by his side all points to him wanting to engineer an exit route from United.
Ronaldo had arrived at Carrington around 11am with Mendes alongside him in the passenger seat and was then seen departing hours later at 4:55pm - but via the back exit. It was unclear whether Mendes was in his car on the way out as Ronaldo was seen alone in the front seats.
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Meanwhile, Christian Eriksen has claimed he and Ten Hag are a great fit together at United. The Denmark midfielder joined the club on a free having made his comeback from heart problems for Brentford last season. "Obviously, to speak with the manager and hear his ideas and have conversations with him on the football terms, was great and ideal for me to get the decision and the possibility of coming to Manchester United," he told the club's website.
"I’m a guy who wants to play football and I think, with the idea of the manager coming in and the ideas he had, and also with my conversations with him, I mean I could see myself playing football in Manchester. And, at the same time, it’s a very, very big club – if not the biggest. If you pronounce it anywhere, they know where it’s from, they know where the locals come from. It has a big history and it’s a nice feeling to be part of something that is that big in history.
"I think my style of play hopefully fits in with his ideas and, hopefully, it’s something that will connect in a good and positive way. So, of course, his style of football, I think it suits me.”
