“It’s A False Narrative That Cristiano Ronaldo Joined Manchester United For Loyalty"

Cristiano Ronaldo has been told his return to Manchester United was not out of loyalty and to narrative surrounding it is 'nonsense'. 

The five-time Ballon d'Or winner moved to Old Trafford from Juventus last summer for a second spell to great fanfare.

He scored 24 goals in all competitions but United finished six in the Premier League and failed to qualify for the Champions League.

Ronaldo has since asked to leave for a second time should a 'significant offer' arrive in the next few weeks.

TalkSPORT's Alex Crook believes the emotion surrounding his initial comeback was a 'false narrative' and broke down exactly why.

The 37-year-old was linked to bitter rivals Manchester City last summer before opting to join United, something Crook thinks wasn't done out of emotion.

"I think Ronaldo does owe Manchester United. I think he owes them because they were the only club willing to pay him half a million a year ago.

"There's a false narrative, in my opinion, that he joined United out of loyalty and love for the club, that he possibly couldn't bring himself to put on the blue shirt of Manchester City. It's absolute nonsense in my opinion.

"The reason he didn't end up at Manchester City is because there wasn't a particularly strong appetite to take him there. There certainly wasn't a strong appetite from Pep Guardiola.

"Yes Manchester United were a disaster last season, but Ronaldo must have been blind if he didn’t know what he was walking into!"

City opted to not sign a striker last summer and instead waited until 2022 to sign Julian Alvarez from River Plate and Erling Haaland from Borussia Dortmund.

Both will likely be at the Etihad Stadium for years to come compared to Ronaldo, who is looking for a swift exit.

Crook continued: "I think it will be better this summer, they've [United] got Erik ten Hag, a strict disciplinarian. Ronaldo still scored 24 goals last season and he doesn't have the mobility he did first time round, but he knows how to put the ball in the back of the net. Ultimately, that is a precious commodity."

United let Liverpool have a free hit at Darwin Nunez because they had Ronaldo in their ranks and they have not been linked with any other strikers.

The Red Devils still expect Ronaldo to fulfil the final year of his contract and are not interested in letting him go.

Ronaldo missed training on Monday and Tuesday and his pre-season tour status is unknown.