Manchester United forward, Cristiano Ronaldo will not play in the UEFA Champions League for the first time in 20 years if he keeps to his words.
Recall that the 37-year-old football icon played for Manchester United between 2003 and 2009 before he left the club for Real Madrid. After spending about 9 years at the Spanish giants, he decided to join Juventus.
After three years at Juventus, Cristiano Ronaldo decided to return to Manchester United, a decision that has proven to be a mistake so far.
Initially, when Manchester United decided to bring Ronaldo to Old Trafford, there was a lot of hope that the Portuguese star would help the club to return to winning ways.
Unfortunately, his presence could not help Manchester United to achieve anything in the 2021-2022 season. Things got so bad that Manchester United could not finish in the top four which means that the Premier League club would not be able to play in the Champions League in the 2022-2023 season.
Despite how terrible the season has been for Manchester United, Ronaldo had a fair season in terms of the number of goals he has scored for the Premier League side.
So far in the 2021-2022 season, Cristiano Ronaldo has scored 24 goals and provided 3 assists in 38 games in all competitions. He is currently the 3rd highest goalscorer in the Premier League with 18 league goals in 30 games.
There is no player at Manchester United that has scored as many goals as Cristiano Ronaldo which means that he is more prolific than any player at the club.
Will Cristiano Ronaldo stays at Manchester United at the end of the 2021-2022 season
Cristiano Ronaldo is the most successful player in the history of the Champions League. He is the first and only player to win five Champions League titles in the history of the competition.
Unfortunately for him, Manchester United will not qualify for the Champions League ahead of the 2022-2023 season. Since the 2002-2003 season, Ronaldo has never missed a Champions League campaign.
Recently, Mirror reported that Cristiano Ronaldo has told his teammates that he would not leave Manchester United even though the club will not play in the Champions League next season.
The report claimed that Ronaldo said the only reason that would make him leave the club is if the incoming coach of the club, Erik Ten Hag does not want him at Old Trafford.
Also, there are reports that coach Ten Hag has said he is willing to work with Cristiano Ronaldo at Manchester United which could mean that the 37-year-old Portuguese star could stay at United beyond the 2021-2022 season.
If that happens, Ronaldo will play in the UEFA Europa League or UEFA Conference League for the first time in his football career which might bring a lot of attention to either of the tournaments.
Cristiano Ronaldo toying with Premier League defenders… 🤯
— ً (@erlingtxt) May 9, 2022
pic.twitter.com/hM1fgvB8HQ
