Cristiano Ronaldo Transfer News: Manchester United Should let CR7 Leave This Summer if He's Reluctant to Stay, Says Club Legend Wayne Rooney

Manchester United legend Wayne Rooney stressed that Manchester United should let Cristiano Ronaldo leave this summer if the Portuguese wants to depart. Manchester United have started their 2022-23 Premier League campaign with a shocking 1-2 defeat against Brighton at Old Trafford. Ronaldo started from the bench in the match with coach Erik ten Hag going with Anthony Martial-Marcus Rashford-Jadon Sancho attacking trio from the beginning. Ronaldo, who completed only four-five training sessions under Ten Hag's watch, looked frustrated in Brighton game despite displaying some incredible football. Manchester 1–2 Brighton: Red Devils Fall To Shock Defeat in Premier League Opener (Watch Goal Video Highlights)

Cristiano Ronaldo, following the end of 2021-22 season, expressed his desire to leave Manchester United, citing the club's lack of activity in the summer transfer window. The 37-year-old Portuguese forward scored 25 goals for the Reds across all competitions last season, but it was not enough to take the English outfit to the top four in the Premier League. After missing out on a spot in UEFA Champions League 2022-23, Ronaldo became reluctant to stay at Old Trafford for another season as he wants to feature in UCL nights. However, Manchester United informed the player that they would not allow him to leave and want the five-time Ballon D'Or to respect his contract which will expire in 2023. Ronaldo missed the whole pre-season tour of Man United, citing family reasons. Cristiano Ronaldo Transfer News: Manchester United Won't Risk Letting Portugal Star Leave Due to Lack of Consistent Scorer, Says Former Player Rio Ferdinand (Watch Video)

Amid all these transfer saga, United legend and former captain Wayne Rooney thinks that the Red Devils should get rid of Cristiano Ronaldo if the forward does not want to continue anymore at Old Trafford. While talking about United's future, Rooney wrote in a column: "I think United should let Cristiano Ronaldo go. It's not that Ronaldo can't play in a Ten Hag team. He can play in any team. Ronny will always score you goals. But my personal view is that United aren't ready to challenge for the title now, so the aim has to be to build a team that can win the league in the next three to four years, and you have to plan for that."

Ronaldo, having played only one game for United in the new PL season, is still open to leave for any elite team if UCL is promised despite Manchester United's 'not-for-sale' stance. The Red Devils' forward has been linked with clubs like Chelsea, Barcelona, Bayern Munich and PSG this summer. However, all the clubs have rejected the idea of signing Ronaldo in this transfer window. With a few months remaining in the summer window, it remains to be seen whether CR7 will continue with the Red Devils who he joined in less than 12 months or will play for any another elite European Club this season.

(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on Aug 08, 2022 07:51 PM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).