Man Utd respond to Cristiano Ronaldo question as he tells club he wants to leave

Manchester United have declined to comment on claims that Cristiano Ronaldo wants to quit Old Trafford.

United were adamant last week that the Portuguese superstar would not be allowed to leave the club after it emerged Ronaldo's agent Jorge Mendes had met with new Chelsea owner Todd Boehly about a potential move to Stamford Bridge. There have also been suggestions that Jose Mourinho's Roma and Ronaldo's first club Sporting Lisbon are interested in signing the 37-year-old.

And now it appears Bayern Munich see him as a potential replacement for Robert Lewandowski should the Polish striker manage to engineer his dream move to Barcelona.

Ronaldo has asked the Reds to allow him to leave if a satisfactory offer is lodged.

He wants to play in the Champions League during the twilight years of his career - and feels the Europa League is beneath him. United were approached for a comment. Their response was that the club would be keeping their counsel on the matter - for now.

It means new boss Erik ten Hag has a huge problem to solve just a week into the reign. Ronaldo scored 24 goals on his return to Old Trafford from Juventus last season and is due to report for pre-season training on Monday.

And Ten Hag feels that there are more pressing weaknesses to address rather than finding a replacement for the ageing five-time Ballon d'Or winner.

Rumours have been rife that Ronaldo wants out of Old Trafford this summer. But when reports of Mendes' meeting with Boehly emerged, United officials were quick to insist that he was part of Ten Hag's plans for next season and would be expected to honour his contract.

It has been suggested that Ronaldo has become disillusioned by the club's inactivity in the transfer market. But United are now closing in on Barcelona midfielder Frenkie de Jong, Ajax defender Lisandro Martinez and Feyenoord full-back Tyrell Malacia.

Ronaldo has appeared in the Champions League for 19 successive seasons and is a five-time European champion with United and Real Madrid.

His return to Manchester was supposed to transform United into Premier League winners. Ronaldo delivered his part of the bargain by finishing top of the club's goal-charts - but the Reds finished sixth.

Ronaldo feels he still has plenty in the tank at the highest level. He still has 12 months of a two-year contract left - with the option for a further year. But as well as paying Juventus £13million last summer, United handed Ronaldo a £500,000-a-week wage.

The Italian club's hopes of banking a further £7million in performance-related add-ons appears bleak.

United were quick to react last week when details of Chelsea's interest emerged - and selling a superstar to another Premier League club would risk infuriating a fan base that is already angry with the owners.