Cristiano Ronaldo’s last chance of leaving Manchester United this summer is with Borussia Dortmund

Cristiano Ronaldo last chance for a Manchester United Output is via a transfer too Borussia Dortmund. His agent Jorge Mendes is actively working on a move.

Ronaldo is still determined to leave Old Trafford this summer to play football in the Champions League. Although Manchester United continue to state that the 37-year-old is not for sale, that stance has yet to be tested by a concrete offer. But sources at Old Trafford tell CBS Sports there is a growing sense, at least in the football department, that leaving Ronaldo is the best approach.

Joel Glazer is the most vocal obstacle to exit as he would prefer to keep Ronaldo and has repeatedly emphasized his commercial value in internal discussions. But new manager Erik ten Hag would now prefer to let him go should an acceptable offer arrive.

Ten Hag felt caught off guard by Ronaldo’s absence last season and there are still tensions between the two. Ronaldo isn’t entirely convinced of ten Hag’s tactics or the way he runs training sessions.

Ronaldo is open to a Dortmund move. Champions League football is not only attractive but also gives him the opportunity to fight for the Bundesliga and thus become the first player to win a national league title England, SpainItaly and Germany.

Dortmund are still in internal talks over whether to make a late proposal to Manchester United, with Mendes encouraging them to do so. Both a permanent position and a loan are being considered. Dortmund would like to add another striker after new signing Sebastien Haller was diagnosed with a testicular tumor and will be out for several months.

Manchester United are also interested in the Dortmund right-back Thomas Meier but he is not considered part of a conversation about Ronaldo.

Sources close to Ronaldo say Dortmund are now being seen as Ronaldo’s ‘last option’ as Mendes is desperate to at least make him an offer before September 1st.

There will be no return Portugal with Sporting CP. Not only can the 19-time champions not afford it, Ronaldo has no appetite, especially in a World Cup year, to be relegated outside of Europe’s big five leagues. Sporting can offer Champions League football but Ronaldo doesn’t want to return to Portugal just yet.

Even if a financially viable move like a free transfer becomes possible in the next fortnight, CBS Sports sources say manager Ruben Amorim is firmly against the move.

Like Ronaldo, Amorim is 37 years old. The couple played together for Portugal between 2010 and 2014. The couple has a friendly personal relationship, but the Sporting boss has made it clear that Ronaldo would not fit.

Amorim’s style of play is very team-oriented and he’s not willing to change that to play Ronaldo as his main focus. Sporting have already recently experienced a player-manager conflict with Islam Slimani, who returned to the club in January with a large salary. Amorim demoted the Algerian striker to reserves after just a few months to make a statement, explaining his lack of tolerance for players who think they are bigger than the team.

Atlético Madrid have also ended their interest in Ronaldo. Club sources have always called a move “problematic”, with club president Enrique Cerezo going so far as to dismiss links as mere rumors.

“I don’t know who invented this story,” he told Spanish outlet AS. “Rumors are rumors and they have to stay where they are because if they continue to grow, it will seem that they are real and they are not. It’s practically impossible for him to come to Atlético de Madrid. “

Atletico boss Diego Simeone was open to signing him and Ronaldo was keen to join despite his ties to him real Madrid. But Atleti’s finances made a move impossible without significant spending and backlash from fans means they have now told Mendes a deal is definitely off.

FC Bayern Munich also rejected the opportunity to sign Ronaldo after the departure Robert Lewandowski to Barcelona. Managing Director Oliver Kahn however, admitted during internal discussions.

“I think he’s one of the greatest footballers of all time,” said Kahn, who won the Champions League with Bayern in 2000/01. “Then we came to the conclusion that despite appreciation for Cristianohe wouldn’t fit into our philosophy.”

Chelsea are also out of the running for Ronaldo and are increasingly confident of signing Barcelona’s Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang in a deal worth over $25m. American chairman Todd Boehly was certainly intrigued by bringing Ronaldo to Stamford Bridge, but Thomas Tuchel vetoed it. The Chelsea manager is not expected to change his mind.

Mendes even approached Barcelona earlier in the transfer window with their president Joan Laporta, stressing that Robert Lewandowski (who has now been signed) has always been their target.

And both Inter Milan and AC Milan spoke to Mendes, more as a courtesy, but neither had the desire or the finances to go through with a transfer.

Ronaldo is willing to take a pay cut of at least 30% to support a Manchester United exit and may be considering an even bigger cut for Dortmund. He would also accept a multi-year contract with a second-year pay cut.

Ronaldo remains frustrated at Manchester United and is therefore willing to do whatever he can to help an applicant secure a transfer.

Sources say he is disappointed with ambition in the transfer market and is yet to get used to ten Hag’s tactics or management style.

Ronaldo in particular (along with several other teammates) felt that ten Hag players should not have called for their early exit during their pre-season friendly Rayo Vallecano.

Ronaldo argues it was agreed in advance that those not involved in the second half could escape to avoid traffic, although ten Hag was adamant he had not given permission and had hoped to get in Being able to speak to the entire squad full-time.

Ronaldo also feels that players are being punished for their poor start to the season using harsh tactics like school teachers. A source described his style as “just like reacting to naughty kids who misbehaved.”

At 37, Ronaldo has to do “penalty laps” in training. Several players feel that this approach is unnecessary and bad for morale. There’s a real feeling in the squad that the style ten Hag has used to manage a young Ajax squad just isn’t being implemented well at Manchester United so far. The training sometimes resembled a boot camp.

Ronaldo is still trying to remain professional, with his camp adamantly denying he’s eating lunch alone or causing dressing room factions. He is aware that there is a high probability that he will not move before the window closes. And in a World Cup year, he knows that if he stays he needs to focus on football and get on his best goal-scoring form by January.

In this context, there is no chance that he will buy himself into free reign (which is considered too risky with the World Cup coming up), nor will Manchester United make any statement and terminate his contract. The club doesn’t have that kind of acrimony towards Ronaldo. If anything, they understand the situation privately.

So if no offer comes, Ronaldo will stay at Manchester United and simply leave a difficult summer behind. And now it’s up to Mendes to find him at the last minute with Dortmund, who are his last hope at the moment.