Cristiano Ronaldo 'to stay at Manchester United this summer'

Manchester United have reportedly won their battle to keep hold of Cristiano Ronaldo, with the Portugal international set to stay at Old Trafford this summer.

The 37-year-old is believed to have told the Red Devils at the start of July that he wants to leave the club during this summer's transfer window to continue playing in the Champions League.

Ronaldo missed Man United's pre-season tour of Thailand and Australia due to a personal issue, but he returned to Carrington late last month and was involved in their final friendly of the summer against Rayo Vallecano.

The Portuguese then featured off the bench in his side's 2-1 loss to Brighton & Hove Albion in the Premier League last weekend, and he is now in contention to start against Brentford on Saturday.

According to AS, despite Ronaldo's desire to depart, he is set to remain at Old Trafford beyond the transfer deadline unless there is a last-minute surprise.

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The report claims that Atletico Madrid had emerged as genuine suitors for the forward in recent weeks, but Diego Simeone's side have now cooled their interest.

Ronaldo is determined to enter the 2022 World Cup in the best possible condition, so he is allegedly prepared to remain at Old Trafford until at least the January transfer window.

Bayern Munich, Chelsea and Paris Saint-Germain were among the clubs to be linked with the former Sporting Lisbon youngster in July, but the trio have ruled themselves out of the running.

A recent report claimed that a number of Man United players were keen for Ronaldo to leave before the end of the transfer window, having become frustrated by the saga.

"It is really starting to annoy a lot of players now," The Sun quoted a source as saying. "He does have his allies in the camp but a lot are fed up with how he is going about things."

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Ronaldo scored 24 goals and registered three assists in 37 appearances for the Red Devils last season, but a disappointing campaign for the club saw them finish down in sixth spot in the Premier League table.

The team's absence from this season's Champions League is believed to be one of the main reasons why he decided to inform the club of his desire to depart.

During Friday's pre-match press conference, Man United head coach Erik ten Hag said that Ronaldo was in line for a start against Brentford following his second-half outing against Brighton last weekend.

"So he had a good training week. I thought he played a little bit longer than half an hour, he's had two half games and for the starting XI we will see tomorrow. My decision (on whether he starts), I keep it," said Ten Hag when asked about Ronaldo's involvement.

Anthony Martial had been set to start the season as the team's number one forward, but he missed out against Brighton with a hamstring issue and will also be absent against the Bees in Saturday's late start.