He's back! Ronaldo returns to Man Utd for crunch talks as huge question marks remain about his future

Cristiano Ronaldo has returned to the fold at Manchester United amid ongoing questions about how long he will be sticking around and whether a transfer could be put in place before the next deadline passes. The Portuguese superstar was left out of Erik ten Hag’s tour party for friendly dates in Asia and Australia, with an extended summer break granted to him due to family issues.

Speculation has continued to rage in his absence as to whether ties with the Red Devils could be severed for a second time, with the five-time Ballon d’Or winner eager to compete on a Champions League stage and fight for major silverware in 2022-23 at 37 years of age.

Is Cristiano Ronaldo staying at Man Utd?

Ronaldo is due to hold talks with United regarding his future after returning to the club’s training ground on Tuesday.

He arrived at Carrington alongside agent Jorge Mendes, with discussions set to be held regarding the direction in which all parties wish to head.

Legendary former Red Devils boss Sir Alex Ferguson – who first signed Ronaldo back in 2003 - also appears set to form part of those meetings having arrived at the Red Devils’ training base at the same time as an all-time great.

Ronaldo, who agreed a two-year contract when returning to Old Trafford in the summer of 2021, flew back to England on Monday having previously informed United of his desire to move on if a suitable offer arrived.

Will Man Utd sell Cristiano Ronaldo?

United have maintained throughout a distracting saga that they have no intention of parting with a man that registered 24 goals for them in a testing 2021-22 campaign for all concerned.

New boss Erik ten Hag has said of the rumours raging around Ronaldo: “I am well informed, he also has also an option (of another year).

“Yes (he could stay beyond this season), but to be honest, of course, I have signed here for three years, but in football it’s short-term as well. We have to win from the start. So I don’t look that far ahead.

“I have a strategy, it’s a process, it takes time but in the end, we have to make sure from the outset there is a winning team.”

Which teams have been linked with Cristiano Ronaldo?

United consider Ronaldo’s return for talks to be a positive sign, as he is willing to listen to what they have to say.

A fiercely ambitious character will, however, be eager to point out that a sixth-place finish and no trophy successes last season is not good enough for him, with one of the best in the business having grown accustomed to competing at the very highest level.

With that in mind, several leading sides from across Europe have seen potential moves for Ronaldo mooted.

There was talk of a reunion being put in place with former United and Real Madrid boss Jose Mourinho at Roma, while Chelsea are said to have explored the option of luring the Portugal international away from a domestic rival before giving up on that pursuit.

Paris Saint-Germain have been thrown into the mix amid questions over Neymar’s future, with many excited by the prospect of Ronaldo linking up with Lionel Messi in France, but there have been no departures at Parc des Princes.

Bayern Munich have generated plenty of gossip after agreeing to sell Robert Lewandowski to Barcelona, but they continue to rule themselves out of the running, while a potential return to Spain at Atletico Madrid has been discussed as an option for Ronaldo despite his strong ties to Real.

For now, he remains part of United’s immediate plans and they have friendly outings against Atletico and Rayo Vallecano to come before opening their 2022-23 Premier League campaign at home to Brighton on August 7.