A number of Manchester United players are reportedly becoming 'fed up' with the ongoing transfer saga involving Cristiano Ronaldo, with many keen for the attacker to depart this summer.
Ronaldo is believed to have informed the Red Devils at the start of last month that he wants to leave the club in the current transfer window to continue playing in the Champions League.
The Portugal international missed his side's pre-season tour of Thailand and Australia due to a personal issue, but he was back at Carrington towards the end of July and played in the team's final friendly of the summer against Rayo Vallecano.
The 37-year-old then featured off the bench in Man United's 2-1 loss to Brighton & Hove Albion on the opening weekend of the 2022-23 Premier League campaign.
However, Ronaldo is still believed to pushing to leave Old Trafford before the end of the window.
© Reuters
According to The Sun, a number of the Man United players are becoming 'increasingly annoyed' by the situation and would prefer that he leaves before the end of the window.
"It is really starting to annoy a lot of players now," the newspaper quotes a source as saying. "He does have his allies in the camp but a lot are fed up with how he is going about things."
Paris Saint-Germain, Bayern Munich and Chelsea were among the clubs to be linked with Ronaldo when it became clear that he wanted to depart.
However, the trio have since ruled themselves out of the running, while interest from the likes of Atletico Madrid, Napoli and Sporting Lisbon has cooled due to the cost involved.
As a result, there are a lack of genuine suitors for the Portuguese at this stage of the transfer window, suggesting that Ronaldo will be forced to see out the final year of his contract.
© Reuters
Speaking ahead of the loss to Brighton last weekend, Man United boss Erik ten Hag said that he was "really happy" to have the former Sporting youngster at the club.
"How do I feel about starting the season with Ronaldo? I'm really happy," Ten Hag told reporters. "I had told you before: we planned with him for the season. We have a top striker and I'm really happy he's here, he's in the squad and we stick to the plan."
Ronaldo scored 24 goals and registered three assists in 37 appearances for the Red Devils last season, but a disappointing campaign for the club saw them finish down in sixth spot in the Premier League table, so they will not play in the Champions League this season.
The forward has been training as usual with Man United this week and is expected to be involved in Saturday's clash with Brentford.