Manchester United

Cristiano Ronaldo plans to continue his international career with Portugal beyond the 2022 World Cup.

"It has been a long road, but I would like to say that my road is not over yet," Ronaldo said Tuesday, per Adriana Garcia of ESPN.

The 37-year-old is the all-time men's leading scorer in international play, tallying 117 goals in 189 appearances. He helped the team win the European championship in 2016 and plans to play again at Euro 2024.

"I hope to be part of the Federation for a few more years," he added. "I still feel motivated; my ambition is high. I'm in a team with young people. I want to be part of this World Cup and the European too; I'm going to assume that right away."

Ronaldo is one of the most accomplished athletes of all time with five Champions League titles and five Ballon d'Or honors, although he has certainly slowed down over the past year.

The veteran now comes off the bench for Manchester United and has no goals or assists through six league matches (one start).

Despite his struggles at the club level, Ronaldo remains invaluable for Portugal. The forward led the squad to the 2019 UEFA Nations League title, and he started nine of 10 matches during World Cup qualifying, scoring a team-high six goals.

The squad now heads to Qatar as part of Group H along with Uruguay, Ghana and Korea Republic.

No matter what happens, Ronaldo plans to be back with the team during the next international break preparing for Euro 2024 qualifying, which is set to begin in March 2023.

Casemiro is joining Manchester United on a transfer from Real Madrid, the Red Devils announced Friday.

The Brazilian's deal with the Premier League side will run through 2026, per Fabrizio Romano. He will be unveiled in the coming days.

The deal is worth £60 million plus £10 million in add-ons to Real Madrid, Romano added. His wages will place him among the highest earners at Manchester United.

Real Madrid manager Carlo Ancelotti confirmed Casemiro's intent on joining Manchester United on Friday morning, saying that the midfielder wanted "a new challenge," per ESPN's Alex Kirkland and Rodrigo Faez.

"I talked about it with [Casemiro] this morning," Ancelotti said Friday. "He wants to try a new challenge, a new opportunity. The club and I understand it. Casemiro—with what he's done at this club, and with the person he is—we have to respect this desire he has.

"There are negotiations right now. Nothing is official, he's still a Real Madrid player, but he wants to leave. If he goes and reaches an agreement, we have the resources to replace him."

Real Madrid will most likely replace Casemiro with former Monaco midfielder Aurélien Tchouameni, whom they added for €80 million in June. Toni Kroos and Eduardo Camavinga are also options to replace him.

Casemiro played nine years for Real Madrid, with his first stint coming from 2013 to '14 and his second from 2015 to '22. He helped the club win five Champions League and three La Liga titles in his tenure.

The 30-year-old had a brief stint with Porto in the Primeira Liga in 2014-15.

Casemiro will be a solid addition to the Manchester United midfield and should help the team turn things around amid a tough start to the 2022-23 season. The Red Devils have lost each of their first two matches, suffering a 2-1 loss to Brighton to kick off the year and then a 4-0 loss to Brentford.

Manchester United is set for a clash with Liverpool on Monday, though it's unclear if Casemiro will be made available for that match.

Ineos billionaire Sir Jim Ratcliffe is interested in buying a stake in Manchester United "with a view to taking full control if the Glazers welcome new investment," according to Matt Dickinson and Martyn Strydom of the Times.

David Hellier and Ruth David of Bloomberg reported earlier Wednesday that the Glazer family "would consider" selling a minority stake in the club and has "held some preliminary discussions about the possibility of bringing in a new investor."

"If the club is for sale, Jim is definitely a potential buyer," a spokesperson for Ratcliffe told the Times.

Sir Jim Ratcliffe is interested in buying a stake in Manchester United, his spokesperson has said, with a view to taking full control of the club. pic.twitter.com/0qoQiTEZzy

— Sky Sports News (@SkySportsNews) August 17, 2022

Ineos owns Swiss Super League club FC Lausanne-Sport and Ligue 1's OGC Nice, and Ratcliffe bid £4.25 billion ($5.12 billion) on Chelsea before it was sold to Todd Boehly's consortium.

Miguel Delaney of the Independent reported Wednesday that "at least three consortiums are circling Manchester United with a view to a formal bid, as belief grows the Glazers would sell the club for $6 billion."

The Glazer family has owned Manchester United since 2005 and also owns the NFL's Tampa Bay Buccaneers. But their ownership has been controversial, and the club has gone nine years without winning a Premier League title.

Given Manchester United's history as the most successful Premier League side with 20 total league titles (13 in the EPL era), that lack of domestic success has caused unrest among supporters.

While United was bound to experience rough stretches after legendary manager Sir Alex Ferguson retired in 2013, the club has since cycled through five different managers (David Moyes, Louis van Gaal, José Mourinho, Ole Gunnar Solskjær and Erik ten Hag), two caretakers (Ryan Giggs, Michael Carrick) and one interim manager (Ralf Rangnick) in his stead, a period of great instability following Ferguson's 27 years on the job.

The club also has a gross debt of almost £600 million ($723 million), nearly identical to the £660 million ($795 million) figure it had after Malcolm Glazer's successful hostile takeover in 2005, per Matt Slater of The Athletic.

Roger Bell, the co-founder of financial analysis firm Vysyble, told Slater that the market has doubts about the Glazer ownership of United:

Since 2015, Manchester United's debt is up by £181 million, which doesn't sound great, and you can see what the market thinks of the decisions the club's directors are making from the share price.

It was $14 when the club floated, but it’s $11.55 now (Bell was speaking last Tuesday before the shares rallied by 10 percent on the Wednesday, almost certainly because of renewed takeover speculation).

The market is looking at Manchester United and saying, 'We're not that keen, thanks. We can see a team that needs a complete rebuild and a stadium that's falling down.' But the takeover debt isn't the issue. That's ancient history. The share price is the problem.

If that market share continues to trend in a downward direction, the Glazers may decide it's time to move on. And if they do—or simply decide to bring in more investors—Ratcliffe appears to be waiting in the wings.

Merseyside Police announced on Wednesday that Manchester United forward Cristiano Ronaldo was given a conditional caution for knocking a phone out of an Everton supporter's hands after an April 9 match at Goodison Park, according to the Associated Press.

Per the AP, "Under British law, a caution is essentially a warning given out by police for a minor crime if the person admits to the offense. A conditional caution means the person must also fulfil a certain obligation, such as replacing damaged property."

Merseyside Police called the situation "concluded" on Wednesday.

Video of Ronaldo knocking a phone out of a teen fan's hands following United's 1-0 loss against Everton made its way onto social media back in April, prompting the investigation.

Sarah Kelly told the Liverpool Echo in April that it was her son, 14-year-old Jake Harding, who had his phone knocked out of his hands by Ronaldo.

"He filmed all the United players walking through," she said. "And then he lowered his phone because Ronaldo had pulled down his sock and his leg was bleeding. He lowered his phone to see what it was—he didn't even speak. Ronaldo then just walked past, with a terrible, terrible temper and smashed the phone out of my son's hand and carried on walking."

Ronaldo issued an apology on Instagram following the confrontation:

It's never easy to deal with emotions in difficult moments such as the one we are facing. Nevertheless, we always have to be respectful, patient and set the example for all the youngsters who love the beautiful game. I would like to apologize for my outburst and, if possible, I would like to invite this supporter to watch a game at Old Trafford as a sign of fair-play and sportsmanship.

The Football Association is expected to undergo its own investigation into the matter now that Merseyside Police has concluded its inquiry, per the BBC.

Ronaldo, 37, remains in a state of flux at Manchester United, with reports that he wants to secure a move elsewhere this season to play Champions League football and reportedly has days where he "eats lunch alone in the canteen at Carrington, and he has been seen flapping his arms about in training and attempting to argue against the high-pressing approach favoured by the new manager," per Adam Crafton of The Athletic.

It is one of many ongoing dramas for Manchester United and new manager Erik ten Hag, as the club have lost their first two matches against Brighton and Brentford by a combined score of 6-1.

Sorry, Manchester United supporters. Elon Musk won't be coming to the rescue.

On Tuesday, the Tesla CEO said he's going to buy the club, but he quickly clarified the comment was made in jest:

Are you serious?

— Tesla Owners Silicon Valley (@teslaownersSV) August 17, 2022

Although, if it were any team, it would be Man U. They were my fav team as a kid.

— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) August 17, 2022

United supporters would certainly love to see an ownership change.

The Glazer family have been largely unpopular from the moment they gained a majority share of the club in 2005 because of the debt they incurred in order to make the deal happen.

Even as Manchester United continued to win the Premier League on multiple occasions, it did little to generate goodwill toward the Glazers. Now that the Red Devils are stuck in a cycle of mediocrity, the atmosphere around Old Trafford is the lowest it has been in perhaps a generation.

'The Glazer family do not put money in!' 💰

Gary Neville on the current ownership of Manchester United 👇 pic.twitter.com/umE6zwO0EE

— Sky Sports Premier League (@SkySportsPL) August 13, 2022

Musk might have taken his name out of the hat, but the Independent's Miguel Delaney reported Wednesday there is a growing belief the Glazer family might be prepared to sell Manchester United.

"A series of industry sources insist the biggest takeover in global sports history is a strong possibility within the next year to 24 months," per Delaney.

Maybe that doesn't come to pass, either, but you can't blame supporters for getting a bit hopeful about a possible regime change.

Manchester United have reportedly asked about acquiring Christian Pulisic on a loan from Chelsea, according to James Olley of ESPN FC.

Andy Mitten of The Athletic also reported the potential move, noting the forward is "frustrated with his lack of starts" and would "prefer" a move to Manchester United.

There could still be competition for the American with Newcastle United, Juventus and Atlético Madrid all also linked with Pulisic.

The 23-year-old has been up-and-down with Chelsea since arriving on a £58million ($70m) transfer from Borussia Dortmund. He scored nine league goals during his first year with the team in 2019-20 before helping the squad win the Champions League title in 2021, but his playing time has been inconsistent over the past two seasons.

In 2021-22, Pulisic started just 13 Premier League matches while making 22 appearances. His 1,286 minutes ranked just 17th on Chelsea despite tying for fourth on the team with six goals.

The winger averaged 0.56 goals and assists per 90 minutes, which ranked third on the team with at least 10 appearances.

This production came despite moving around the lineup to get on the pitch, including some appearances as a wingback in manager Thomas Tuchel's 3-4-2-1 system. Transfermarkt listed six different positions for Pulisic over his 38 appearances in all competitions last season.

With just 30 minutes off the bench through two matches in 2022-23, it seems the forward may need a fresh start.

Manchester United could certainly use attacking help after a dreadful start to the year that puts them bottom of the Premier League table. The squad has just one goal in its two losses, which came from an own goal in their 2-1 defeat Brighton and Hove Albion.

Despite his struggles at times with Chelsea, Pulisic has proved to be an impact player with the United States national team, scoring 21 goals with 10 assists in 50 appearances. The next step is to carry this over to the club level.

A move to Newcastle could also create more playing time for Pulisic, helping a team that failed to find the back of the net against Brighton in its last match.

Atletico Madrid and Juventus could offer Champions League football, with the latter providing a chance to reunite with USMNT teammate Weston McKennie. However, they could also create the same challenges for playing time on a weekly basis.

Cristiano Ronaldo called out the media on Instagram for "telling lies."

'The media is telling lies. I have a notebook and in the last few months of the 100 news they made, only 5 were right.'

Ronaldo ✍️ : pic.twitter.com/kq1WuJRkUo

— B/R Football (@brfootball) August 16, 2022

Cristiano Ronaldo says on Instagram thay he has "a notebook" of the headlines surrounding him, and that only five of them were correct, and that the truth will come out in an interview "in a couple of weeks" 👇 pic.twitter.com/HtkE5xNmVo

— UtdDistrict (@UtdDistrict) August 16, 2022

The Manchester United star said only five of the 100 news stories about him over the past few months were right. Ronaldo said he promises to tell the truth in an interview that will be released in a couple of weeks.

There have been rumors of Ronaldo seeking an exit from Manchester United throughout the summer, reportedly for a team competing in the Champions League. Rob Dawson of ESPN reported Monday that his "negative influence in the dressing room" has caused some in the organization to consider letting him leave.

Sky Sports initially reported Manchester United might terminate his contract, although the tweet was later deleted:

Manchester United aren’t happy with Cristiano Ronaldo 😬#MUFC pic.twitter.com/HBzrMhjz2r

— 101 Great Goals (@101greatgoals) August 14, 2022

The Red Devils have been adamant publicly about wanting to keep the superstar, but two losses in two matches could change the team's strategy before the transfer window closes.

There have been links to several of the top clubs in Europe, including Atletico Madrid and Bayern Munich, but they have turned down the chance to add the forward.

Atletico Madrid President Enrique Cerezo called the move "practically impossible," while Bayern Director Oliver Kahn said "he would not fit into our philosophy."

Despite the whirlwind of reports throughout the summer, Ronaldo says many of them have been untrue.

The 37-year-old is yet to score in two Premier League matches this year after totaling 18 league goals in 2021-22.

Manchester United might change their tune on letting Cristiano Ronaldo leave amid a terrible start to the 2022-23 season.

The squad has continually said it doesn't want to let the superstar leave on a transfer, but Rob Dawson of ESPN FC reported "there is an increasing feeling from some within the club that United should be open to letting him move."

Manager Erik ten Hag is reportedly "particularly concerned about any negative factors affecting the spirit within the dressing room," per Dawson.

Manchester United are currently last in the Premier League table with two losses in two matches, having been outscored by five goals.

Ronaldo came off the bench during the opening loss to Brighton & Hove, but he played all 90 minutes during Saturday's 4-0 defeat to Brentford.

The 37-year-old has been seeking an exit throughout the summer, with Dawson reporting his plans to join a club competing in the Champions League. Manchester United fell short of qualifying for UCL last season and will participate in the Europa League this year.

Ronaldo missed the team's preseason tour in Thailand, while he left another preseason match with Rayo Vallecano at halftime after being substituted out.

As Dawson reported, the forward "has not hidden his keenness for a move."

His disgust was clear after the latest loss:

Ronaldo going off the pitch and he was fuming and rightfully so.

He deserves so much better than this club and let's hope he leaves.pic.twitter.com/Wryn15wPWm

— The CR7 Timeline. (@TimelineCR7) August 13, 2022

If only pictures could talk 😬 pic.twitter.com/B1t0HUxi6k

— GOAL (@goal) August 13, 2022

Ronaldo scored 18 goals in 30 league matches last season after joining the team from Juventus. He has yet to score through two matches in 2022-23.

Manchester United will reportedly consider terminating Cristiano Ronaldo's contract if the superstar forward doesn't change his attitude, Sky Sports reported in a since-deleted tweet.

Manchester United aren’t happy with Cristiano Ronaldo 😬#MUFC pic.twitter.com/HBzrMhjz2r

— 101 Great Goals (@101greatgoals) August 14, 2022

https://twitter.com/SkyKaveh/status/1558820684037505026

Manchester United have reportedly denied the report:

#mufc insist report they are considering terminating Cristiano Ronaldo’s contract is false. Their position on Ronaldo hasn’t changed.

— Samuel Luckhurst (@samuelluckhurst) August 14, 2022

Ronaldo's status has been one of the storylines of the summer for Manchester United, as the forward reportedly wants to depart the club to play Champions League football elsewhere. But to this point, a transfer hasn't materialized.

Ronaldo stayed away from the club for much of the summer, hoping to force a move, but with none forthcoming returned to United ahead of the start of the season. He came off the bench in the club's 2-1 season-opening loss to Brighton and started in Saturday's shocking 4-0 loss to Brentford.

Ronaldo did not cut the figure of a happy man during the contest:

If only pictures could talk 😬 pic.twitter.com/B1t0HUxi6k

— GOAL (@goal) August 13, 2022

Ronaldo going off the pitch and he was fuming and rightfully so.

He deserves so much better than this club and let's hope he leaves.pic.twitter.com/Wryn15wPWm

— The CR7 Timeline. (@TimelineCR7) August 13, 2022

While Ronaldo fumed, he didn't exactly make a major impact in the game, either, and his turnover contributed to the first goal of the game.

On the third goal of the game, Ronaldo offered little defense in the box, looking more the part of a bystander than an engaged participant.

By the time Brentford found the back of the net for the fourth time, a despondent Ronaldo simply looked on in exasperation and disgust.

At this point, a divorce seems best suited for both parties, though it comes with complications.

The 37-year-old Ronaldo is on incredibly high wages and is a fairly one-dimensional player at this point, offering goals as a poaching forward but little in the way of defensive pressing. That has made him a poor fit for Erik ten Hag's system, and his combo of wages and playstyle has clearly kept potential suitors at bay to this point.

But United also don't have many options at center forward if he departs, even if breaking ties with him might improve the mood around the club.

It's a messy circumstance, and certainly, United's issues run far deeper than simply Ronaldo. But finding a solution to the rift between the club and one of the most prominent players in the world would be a start to addressing the many concerns in Manchester.

Manchester United continued to sink toward the abyss Saturday with a 4-0 loss to Brentford in west London.

Josh Dasilva and Mathias Jensen scored for the Bees inside the first 18 minutes at the Brentford Community Stadium, and the home side scored twice more before halftime to carry a 4-0 lead into the break against Cristiano Ronaldo and Co.

No goals were scored in the second half, and United finished the match with just four shots on target.

I think the worst I’ve ever seen a big club play in the PL recently was the Mourinho Season, Chelsea Aug-Dec 2015. But at least that was a collapse from having won the league. This isn’t a collapse or a doom-spiral. It’s not fatigue. They’ve started a new era like this!

— Jack Pitt-Brooke (@JackPittBrooke) August 13, 2022

The lopsided defeat comes after United opened the 2021-22 Premier League season with a 2-1 loss against Brighton & Hove Albion at Old Trafford on Sunday.

Those concerning results followed the Red Devils so far failing to significantly upgrade a squad that finished sixth in the league table and failed to make any deep cup runs last term.

Manager Erik ten Hag, who was hired in April, said Friday the club's transfer business hasn't been ideal throughout the summer, noting he would have preferred to have his targets signed earlier.

"Once again, it would be my preference because we could be starting the process earlier, quite clear," he told reporters. "But at the end of the day, the season is long and you have to get in the right players."

The former Ajax boss also discussed the perceived "panic" about the club's direction.

"I would be more in panic when there wasn't panic because we have to win. That is the demand," Ten Hag said. "Still, I would say panic isn't the right word. It's more like, 'Come on, we have to act.' We have to think bright and do the right things."

Current state of Manchester United: pic.twitter.com/3ZeMTKrGM2

— B/R Football (@brfootball) August 13, 2022

While United attempts to secure some marquee signings before the summer transfer window closes Sept. 1, questions over Ronaldo's future continue to hover over the club.

The five-time Ballon d'Or winner sought a move to a club taking part in the UEFA Champions League, but nothing has materialized.

Ronaldo failed to make much of an impact Saturday, though the same was true for most of his teammates in the blowout.

Complete, utter embarrassment.

This is an indictment on all that is wrong at #MUFC.

Starting with the Glazers, who take money out of the club rather than invest, leading to recruitment that produces a squad not fit for purpose + no signs it will get any better.

— Laurie Whitwell (@lauriewhitwell) August 13, 2022

If United doesn't improve its form dramatically in the coming weeks, frustration is going to start boiling over among supporters and most of it will likely be directed toward the Glazer family, which secured controlling interest in the storied club in 2005.

A "Time 2 Go. Glazers Out" banner is being held by the #mufc fans.

— UtdDistrict (@UtdDistrict) August 13, 2022

For now, the Red Devils sit at the bottom of the Premier League table, and that's where they belong based on their level of play through two matches.

They'll attempt to start turning things around Aug. 22 when they host title contenders Liverpool at Old Trafford.