Cristiano Ronaldo has snubbed David Beckham and his Inter Miami outfit in favour of remaining with Manchester United.
Beckham had explored the chances of his MLS club luring Ronaldo to the United States this summer in a bid to boost the team’s performance and brand. But the former England captain, who co-owns the Floridian franchise, looks set to fail after being told Ronaldo is not for sale.
Chelsea and Bayern Munich have also shown interest in landing the Portuguese icon. But despite becoming disillusioned with how his return to Old Trafford panned out last season, Ronaldo is expected to exercise the option to extend his contract with United by an extra 12 months.
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And the news will be a huge boost to new boss Erik ten Hag, who will meet Ronaldo on Monday when the United squad return for pre-season training at Carrington.
Ten Hag is expected to hold talks with Ronaldo in a bid to reassure him his immediate future remains with United – and could even decide to offer him the captaincy. The Dutchman will also look to ease the 37-year-old’s growing concerns about United’s lack of serious transfer activity since the end of last.
United have hit a brick wall in their attempts to land Frenkie de Jong after refusing to meet Barcelona’s £80m valuation of the Holland international. To make matters worse Ajax defender Jurrien Timber has made it clear he is staying with the Dutch champions, while free agent Christian Eriksen is still deciding whether to take up an offer to move to Manchester.