Cristiano Ronaldo's escape route from Manchester United could land him in Saudi Arabia?

It's been under two weeks since the summer transfer window came to a close, but speculations around Cristiano Ronaldo's future at Manchester United continues to grow, with reports indicating that the legendary striker could push for a move out of Old Trafford in the January window. Interestingly, Yasser Al-Misehal, president of the Saudi Arabian Football Federation, has sent a clear transfer message to the Portuguese superstar.

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Ronaldo was the subject of plenty of speculation this summer as he missed a significant chunk of Manchester United's pre-season under new manager Erik ten Hag, with his agent Jorge Mendes scrambling the transfer market for a potential Champions League suitor. 

Although the Portuguese talisman ended up staying at Old Trafford, recent reports suggested that Chelsea could re-explore signing the 37-year-old striker. It is said that Todd Boehly was keen to bring the Portugal forward to Stamford Bridge but faced resistance from then-manager Thomas Tuchel, who believed the veteran footballer's 'spirit' could destroy his dressing room.

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While it remains to be seen if Chelsea or any other Champions League-playing club will offer Ronaldo an escape route from Old Trafford after the World Cup 2022, it seems the Portuguese superstar is much wanted in Saudi Arabia. Yasser Al-Misehal has spoken about how much he would like to see the Red Devils' icon join one of the clubs in their league.

"We would love to see a player like Cristiano Ronaldo playing in the Saudi league," Yasser Al-Misehal, President of Saudi Arabian Football Association, told The Athletic. "It would bring a huge positive feedback and it would be big news for everyone. I'm sure everyone knows the achievements and records of Cristiano Ronaldo, but also as a player who is a great role model," he added.

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"I think, 'Why not?'. I'm sure it would be a very expensive deal, of course, but we can see our clubs getting higher revenues in the past couple of years. We have already seen some big players who used to play in the Premier League come to the Saudi league. I like Cristiano Ronaldo as a player and I would like to see him play in Saudi Arabia," Al-Misehal stated. "It wouldn't be an easy transaction for a Saudi club or even for him (Ronaldo), but we would love to see him or even some other top players of the same level," he concluded.

Meanwhile, Manchester United players reportedly believe that the five-time Ballon d'Or winner will again look to leave in the early stages of 2023. "All the players loved it when Ronaldo came back to United last season, but they are frustrated he missed pre-season," The SUN quoted a source as saying.

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"The manager put a lot of work into giving the squad detailed information about what he wanted them to do and how he wanted them to play. Ronaldo is not up to speed with that and is relying on instinct when he plays. But that doesn't work in Ten Hag's system. He often demands the ball too early in build-up play and drops deep for the ball, but that means when the ball is wide there is no-one in the middle to hit it into. Ten Hag and the rest of the players really rate Ronaldo," the report added quoting the source.

"But it's clear that the success they have had this season is from following tactical instruction rather than the individual brilliance they relied on last season. Ronaldo is likely to find himself on the bench again going forward. And he is going to have to get used to scoring a lot less goals because he is only being introduced towards the end of games when Ten Hag has already made changes which make United less attacking. He needs to realise it's only going to work if he tunes into ten Hag's plans," the report concluded.

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It is unclear whether Ronaldo believes he can still have an impact at the top level of competition or if he is ready to leave Europe at this point in his career. Although it may be getting less likely, Manchester United supporters would love to see this club legend close his career at Old Trafford.