‘Let me leave’ Cristiano Ronaldo tells Man Utd after crunch talks breakdown

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Manchester United have reportedly failed to convince Cristiano Ronaldo to withdraw his transfer request.

Ronaldo has been angling for a move away from the 13-time Premier League champions all summer so that he can play in the Champions League next season. United failed to qualify for the competition after finishing sixth last term.

According to The Times, United attempted to convince the Portuguese star to remain at Old Trafford during crunch showdown talks with Ronaldo and his agent Jorge Mendes on Tuesday. The talks were aimed at emphasising the 37-year-old's importance in getting United back to where they need to be both at home and in Europe under new boss Erik ten Hag.

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However, the discussions earlier this week reportedly failed to convince Ronaldo to remain at Old Trafford. He is understood to have been encouraged by interest in him from Atletico Madrid and Bayern Munich and hopes that United will come round to letting him leave halfway through his two-year deal.

Interest in Ronaldo had been slim up until now, and the star this month rejected a £255million offer to join a club in Saudi Arabia's Pro League.

The former Real Madrid and Juventus forward is understood to have trained with Ten Hag's squad for the first time this week and was present during a behind-closed-doors pre-season friendly success over Wrexham on Wednesday.

Ten Hag has been firm in his belief that he wants to work with Ronaldo and recently told reports that he would have no issue fitting the five-time Ballon d'Or winner into his way of playing.

"I think Cristiano is capable of doing that," Ten Hag said. "In his career, he has shown everything. I have set my demand. We want to play in a certain way. A top player can contribute and Ronaldo is an absolute top player in our squad."

Whether Ten Hag now gets that opportunity remains to be seen.

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