Rio Ferdinand has urged Manchester United to resolve Cristiano Ronaldo's future immediately ahead of the new Premier League season.
Ronaldo, 37, reportedly wants to leave Old Trafford this summer to play Champions League football. Erik ten Hag's side can't offer that after finishing sixth last season and will instead compete in the Europa League - the last competition they won in May 2017.
The Portugal skipper held showdown talks with United last week and, as it stands, is staying at Old Trafford. He insists he's "happy to be back" after featuring in United's pre-season friendly against Rayo Vallecano on Sunday, yet the transfer saga is still rumbling on.
Ferdinand would like to see Ronaldo stay but knows the most important thing for all concerned is a resolution. "As players, you just want the situation ironed out and sorted out immediately," Ferdinand tells Mirror Football , courtesy of BT Sport. "You don't want it lingering on and dragging on, I think Harry Kane had that with Spurs last year.
"But I think the reasons are different. Cristiano, there's been issues behind-the-scenes with his family and health and stuff like that. You have to take that into consideration.
"But if the reports are true - that he's looking to move and what not - then you kind of want the club to nail that down so there isn't a hangover going into the season. I'd like to think - if you're looking at this as a supporter - this will be sorted out one way or the other."
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Ronaldo wasn't involved in United's pre-season tour of Thailand and Australia and only reported back to duty last week. Despite the Portuguese's ongoing transfer saga, the Red Devils have enjoyed a positive start to life under new manager Ten Hag.
They recorded comfortable pre-season wins against Liverpool, Melbourne Victory and Crystal Palace, while many players have spoken highly about Ten Hag's methods. Although Ferdinand doesn't read too much into those results, he's impressed by the new manager.
"I don't really look at results in pre-season," adds Ferdinand, "I've played far too many games in pre-season and lost and it had no reflection on the coming season. I think it's more about the noises I'm hearing out of the training ground from the players, listening to individuals talk really positively - there seems to be a bit of a spring in their step now.
"You don't want to get too carried away, but it's positive to hear the messaging and direction in training... It seems like there's a lot more clarity and there's a better understanding of how they want to play. And they're enjoying it, most importantly.
"And the discipline, I read an article about a player being dropped for a couple of games - completely from the squad - because of punctuality problems. Things like that are the elements that I've been calling for and wanting to see in the last few years. At the moment, in pre-season when there's no pressure, it seems to be going quite well."
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