Manchester United are reportedly prepared to part ways with Cristiano Ronaldo this summer due to the forward's negative presence in the first-team squad.
The 37-year-old is understood to have expressed his desire to leave Old Trafford as he is keen to continue playing in the Champions League.
United have insisted throughout this summer that Ronaldo is not for sale, with the five-time Ballon d'Or winner under contract with the Red Devils for another 12 months.
In addition, Erik ten Hag has previously stated that the forward is part of his plans for the 2022-23 campaign, telling reporters earlier this month: "How do I feel about starting the season with Ronaldo? I'm really happy.
"I had told you before: we planned with him for the season. We have a top striker and I'm really happy he's here, he's in the squad and we stick to the plan."
However, BBC Sport reports that senior figures at United have been 'alarmed' at how the positive mood among the first-team squad during pre-season has quickly disappeared over the summer due to the negative presence of Ronaldo and the uncertainty over his future.
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The report adds that Ronaldo has rarely communicated with his teammates in the canteen and his desire to leave the club is common knowledge among the squad.
Furthermore, there is a belief among some at the club that first-team morale and performances will continue to decline until Ronaldo leaves, and even if the Red Devils were unable to recruit a replacement, the squad would see significantly signs of improvement both on and off the pitch.
Ten Hag, chief executive Richard Arnold and football director John Murtough are now set to hold discussions over the future of Ronaldo as they approach the final two weeks of the summer transfer window.
Former Man United defender Gary Neville believes the Red Devils could finish in the bottom half of the Premier League this season if they were to let Ronaldo leave the club this summer.
"The problem they have now is if they lose him, there's nothing left in terms of the goal-scoring part of the pitch," Neville told Sky Sports' Monday Night Football.
"I genuinely think if they don't bring players in or if they bring poor players in and he leaves, I genuinely think they can finish in the bottom half of the table.
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"I think that is a bottom-half-of-the-table team. That is a massive statement that may look stupid at the end of the season. They are demoralised and shot to pieces, it is really bad in there. They have gone back to default."
Ronaldo was welcomed with open arms when he returned the club from Juventus last summer, but the forward was unable to end the Red Devils' barren spell without silverware, albeit scoring 24 goals in 39 appearances in the 2021-22 campaign.
United could only finish sixth in the Premier League last season, 35 points behind rivals and champions Manchester City, and Ronaldo is now wanting out after they failed to qualify for the Champions League.
A recent report claims that both Atletico Madrid and Chelsea are both still interested in signing Ronaldo despite previous reports suggesting that they had turned down the chance recruit the forward earlier this summer.
The likes of Bayern Munich, Paris Saint-Germain, Sporting Lisbon, Napoli, AC Milan and Inter Milan have also been linked with a move for Ronaldo, but they allegedly have no interest in luring the forward away from Old Trafford.
Oliver Thomas
