Cristiano Ronaldo's future is under question once again, after reports that he has had meetings with Sir Alex Ferguson about what he'll do next season.
Ronaldo returned to Manchester United last summer to much fanfare, thanks in part to a phone call from his former manager, and the mood at Old Trafford back in September was jubilant as he made his return against Newcastle United.
Since then things have gone completely downhill for the team, as they've had their poorest Premier League season, conceding the most goals in a league season in the current era and will finish on their least points.
Advert
Ronaldo has at least provided what few highlights there have been, and the 37-year-old has scored 24 times, across all competitions, including some very important goals.
There has been questions about the Portugal forward's future, considering that the team won't be playing in the Champions League next season, and he's been discussing it with his mentor.
According to the Mirror, Ronaldo and Fergie have had a 'series' of meetings over cups of tea in their respective homes, with the pair living near each other, throughout the season.
Advert
The report claims that the Scotsman, who was integral in the all time men's top goalscorer in football moving to the north west of England twice, is keen for his mentee to stay at Old Trafford.
That is likely to go someway to persuading the former Real Madrid forward to stay in Manchester for the second, and potentially last, year of his contract.
There is likely to be lots of changes at the club in the summer, with the arrival of Erik ten Hag as the new manager the obvious one, and that will be the next part of what time five time Ballon d'Or winner does.
It was expected that Ralf Rangnick's arrival would see Ronaldo used more sparingly but the German soon dropped the gegenpress style that people thought would be the reason for the end of the striker.
Advert
Ten Hag may decide that he wants to bring in a striker and only use Ronaldo less frequently than he's had to be played this campaign, with Edinson Cavani a new forward is extremely likely, it just depends who will play second fiddle.
Missing out on the top tier of European football means it'll be the first season the forward hasn't played in the Champions League since leaving Sporting for Old Trafford in 2003.
That could play some part in the player deciding his future, especially with his wages dropping due to the team's failure to finish in the top four.
Topics: Manchester United, Cristiano Ronaldo, Sir Alex Ferguson, Transfers
Ryan Sidle