Manchester United expected to move Cristiano Ronaldo during January transfer window

During the Premier League season, CR7 has been riding the bench as Manchester United head coach Erik ten Hag has given starting nods to forwards Anthony Martial (France) and Marcus Rashford (England). For a once-in-a-generation talent such as Ronaldo, a benching for younger and less accomplished players must be difficult.

The situation got worse this week as CR7 left the pitch without the rest of his team after it defeated Tottenham, 2-0, on Wednesday. As a result, ten Hag kept Ronaldo out of the lineup for Man U’s huge match against Chelsea on Saturday. 

Sky Sports’ reporter Gary Neville, a former United defender, said that “Ronaldo is going to have to go somewhere else and play every week because he can’t accept being on the bench.”

Neville followed up his remarks by relating his experience as a former Man U star: “When you look at whether Cristiano should be selected, Manchester United are better without him -- and Erik ten Hag knows that.”

While Ronaldo’s issues with Manchester United couldn’t get much worse, none of this will affect his status for the 2022 Qatar World Cup next month. At 37, the 2022 World Cup will be his last, just as it will be for Argentina star Lionel Messi.

Rumors are already surfacing that Ronaldo could eye a return to the Italian Serie A where he once played for Juventus FC. Napoli is another club that had expressed major interest in acquiring CR7 over the summer and likely remains interested.

It would be somewhat unbelievable if Ronaldo joined a top Premier League club such as Chelsea or Manchester United's rival, Arsenal, which also expressed interest in Ronaldo over the summer.

But it seems increasingly likely that Ronaldo will be playing elsewhere in 2023-24.