Cristiano Ronaldo has been open in his ambition to move on from Manchester United and take up a new challenge. It comes after Ronaldo did not report for pre-season training at the club's Carrington training complex three weeks ago and has been absent from their tour of Thailand and Australia due to a family issue.
Two days before United's internationals' scheduled return date for training, it emerged that the Portuguese superstar wished to leave the club over their failure to qualify for the Champions League and slow movement in the transfer market.
Since then, though, United have gone on to make three first-team signings - signings that many would agree improve United's squad in different departments with Tyrell Malacia, Christian Eriksen and Lisandro Martinez. We know United aren't done yet, too, with the Frenkie de Jong saga ongoing, taking twists and turns seemingly every day.
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Yet Ronaldo’s future has been a constant source of speculation over the past few weeks, with the player himself seemingly still keen to move on. At this point in his career, what does Ronaldo have left to prove? The answer is very little.
Starting the debate of who the greatest player of all-time is one that is quite pointless - it's all down to opinion. But honestly, you could make a really strong case for around four to five players to be in that list. Cristiano Ronaldo is one of those five players.
His resume speaks for himself. At United, he was one of the main men who helped deliver three consecutive Premier League titles as well as winning a Champions League with the Reds.
After getting his move to his dream club, Real Madrid, Ronaldo elevated himself to all-time level, helping rebuild Real Madrid and recapturing their former greatness - going on to win four Champions Leagues and two La Ligas in his time in the Spanish capital.
When he signed for Juventus, even at that point, Ronaldo had already cemented himself as one of the greatest to ever play, before going on to win back-to-back Scudettos, and then sensationally returning to United a summer ago.
It was a transfer that, footballing-wise, didn't make a lot of sense. United know that they are not in 'win now' mode, but are building for the future whilst retooling the squad. Ronaldo is a player who has every reason to be confident, but even he should have foreseen that United were never realistically going to be in a title race last season.
But the campaign went worse than expected, finishing outside of the top four bringing forth his frustrations, and ultimately, his asking to move on.
If Ronaldo is to leave United this summer, it undoubtedly hurts his legacy. He will always be a Manchester United legend, but for some, the memories of him returning and walking out after just one year would be a stain on his career. However, if he were to stay, be a part of the rebuild and help lead United into the new era - then what could be said?
At his age, he realistically isn't going to walk into a top European club and be 'the man' anymore - there's a reason why his market has been much more quiet than he would have expected.
In Manchester, it's always going to be the Cristiano Ronaldo show so long as he dons the number 7 jersey - no matter what the situation. If he chooses to stay, helps the young players in the squad and embraces a veteran leadership role - all whilst still being a 10-15 goal-a-season man - his legacy is unquestionable.
United manager Erik ten Hag has echoed the club's stance that Ronaldo is not for sale and indicated he was open to working with the Portuguese for two years. Ronaldo, 37, is contracted to United until next year but the club has the option of an additional year - meaning he's effectively under contract until 2024.
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