Cristiano Ronaldo is not thinking about leaving Manchester United despite knowing that the former league winners are unlikely to qualify for next season's Champions League, transfer expert Fabrizio Romano has claimed.
Ronaldo apparently holds Europe's premier club competitionclose to his heart as he is the tournament's all-time top scorer with 140 goals.
The Funchal-born superstar is also the only footballer to lift the continental title on five different occasions, having captured the trophy in 2008 with Manchester United and in 2014, 2016, 2017 and 2018 with Real Madrid.
For this reason, it is believed that missing out on the Champions League could trigger Ronaldo's exit from Carrington. But Romano rubbished such reports in his article for football website CaughtOffside: "His contract is valid for another year and his hope is to stay at Manchester United, but only if Erik ten Hag is really sure he can believe in Cristiano as the key player for next season's team," Romano wrote in his column.
According to the Italian, CR7 is yet to hold discussions about his role with incoming boss Ten Hag, but he expects that the pair would gel well.
Ronaldo's professionalism - putting in long hours on the practice field and in the gym –is expected to be liked by the Dutchman, who is known to have a soft spot for players who showcase a high level of training intensity.
"Age is only a number, especially when it comes to one of the greatest footballers and most dedicated and professional athletes of all time," journalist Romano added.
As per the media personality, Ronaldo would not have a problem with United's plan of hiring another centre forward during the summer transfer window.
Romano's arguments in favour of Ronaldo's stay in England come at a time when the ex-Real Madrid attacker has himself hinted at finishing his tenure there.
As the season comes to a close, the Portugal skipper remains United's top scorer with 24 goals across all competitions.
But his efforts have failed to resurrect the Red Devils, who are set to end their current campaign outside the top four of the English top flight.