Cristiano Ronaldo wants out of Manchester United, but where could he go this transfer window? – The Warm-Up

MONDAY’S BIG STORIES

You do one Ron Ron, you do one Ron

Cutting through it all is quite difficult, but at the very core of what will sadly become another Summer Transfer Saga™ is a player wanting to leave a club when the new season is closer than the one that just concluded.

United finished the last campaign in sixth. Thirteen points off fourth. And it was on May 7, after the 4-0 loss to Brighton, when they knew it was no longer possible mathematically to reach the Champions League.

So what has changed for Ronaldo since then? Since he said, on June 3, that “Manchester will be where they belong. Sometimes it takes time, but I still believe”?

Perhaps the Champions League is also playing heavily on Ronaldo’s mind. It’s Europe’s elite competition, featuring the very best, and you don’t win the Ballon d’Or by winning the Europa League. (Checks notes… you really don’t. Michael Owen won in 2001, and Liverpool played Uefa Cup in 2000-01 and the Champs in 2001-02 – so that kinda counts?).

In a summer of moves – Sadio Mane, Erling Haaland, and perhaps Robert Lewandowski – as well as the big stays – Mohamed Salah and Kylian Mbappe – it appears Ronaldo also wants a slice of the centre-stage action, where the world’s very best forwards are all positioning themselves as the key forward at said club, hoping European success delivers that coveted golden ball.

And for that reason it is difficult to work out where Ronaldo might go, especially if he wants to be the top dog. He could take the limelight from Mane at Bayern? Fill the slot left by Romelu Lukaku at Chelsea? Or he could fancy crashing the party at PSG or Real Madrid?

Finding space for him is suddenly no longer easy, and it is difficult to find a club that may jump at the chance.

It’s Euros week

Get your wallchart ready, brush up on those pronunciations, and tuck into Euro 2022 from Wednesday – which starts with hosts England taking on Austria at Old Trafford.

Want to head into the tournament with a bit more knowledge in the bank? Look no further…

And want one more?

Stick that in your pipe and smoke it. And by pipe, we mean brain, and by smoke, we mean remember.

IN OTHER NEWS

Blame it on the weather, man

“We cannot take the risk,” Confederation of African Football (CAF) president Patrice Motsepe said. “January is not the ideal time because of the European clubs, but it is the only choice we have.”

That will, er, not go down well, but at least CAF can point towards FIFA and Qatar and say… they started it!

IN THE CHANNELS

PSA: While you get tribal on Twitter over the smallest things, those guys are out there laughing it all away.

RETRO CORNER

Most of the time you try and find a Retro Corner, but just sometimes the Retro Corner finds you.

Here’s a beauty we stumbled upon yesterday, when Paul Gascoigne greeted David Ginola at his first Everton training session in a way only Gazza would…

COMING UP

The Euros, as we said… but in the meantime stay across the Tour de France and Wimbledon!