Manchester United are reportedly expecting Cristiano Ronaldo to leave the club in the January transfer window.
The five-time Ballon d'Or winner was understood to have been pushing for an exit over the summer due to his desire to keep playing in the Champions League.
Ronaldo was absent from most of Man United's pre-season for personal reasons, but his efforts to engineer a move away from Old Trafford were ultimately unsuccessful.
Since that transfer saga, Ronaldo has been sparingly used under Erik ten Hag and could leave as a free agent in 2023, but Man United do possess the option to extend his stay until 2024.
However, the Red Devils are not expected to trigger that clause and have supposedly accepted that the former Real Madrid and Juventus man will depart at some point next year.
According to Sky Deutschland reporter Florian Plettenberg, Ronaldo's exit could come as early as January, and club chiefs are prepared to lose the attacker over the winter months.
Ronaldo and agent Jorge Mendes struggled to find suitors over the summer, but Plettenburg adds that a return to Sporting Lisbon is a realistic possibility for the Portugal international.
Ronaldo has only recorded three goals and two assists in 16 appearances for Man United this season, but he has been a regular fixture in their starting XI over the past few weeks.
With Anthony Martial struggling for fitness and the ill Jadon Sancho also falling out of favour, Ronaldo has played the full 90 minutes in each of the Red Devils' last four games in all competitions.
The 37-year-old's re-introduction to the starting lineup has come in the wake of his refusal to come off the bench against Tottenham Hotspur, but he quickly buried the hatchet with Ten Hag.
Ronaldo was even handed the captain's armband for Sunday's Premier League clash with Aston Villa, but he was unable to prevent the Red Devils from falling to a 3-1 defeat.
The attacker now has a total of 145 goals and 64 assists from 346 appearances during his two spells at Old Trafford, and Plettenburg adds that Man United are already getting to work on searching for replacements.
Bayern Munich's Eric Maxim Choupo-Moting has reportedly emerged as a potential target, with the 33-year-old thriving in the Robert Lewandowski-sized void at the Allianz Arena.
Choupo-Moting has scored 10 goals in 14 games for the Bundesliga champions this season, and he is out of contract at the end of the season.
However, a separate update from Plettenberg has stated that Bayern are intending to tie the former Stoke City and Paris Saint-Germain attacker down to a new deal, having been left delighted with his efforts this term. body check tags ::
