Messi 'pushes' Cristiano Ronaldo out of Manchester United

If a good offer comes along, Cristiano Ronaldo has reportedly asked the club to let him leave. Just one year ago, he sensationally returned to Old Trafford from Juventus.

In 39 games across all competitions last season, he scored 24 goals, making him the team's leading scorer. Manchester United, however, had a terrible season overall, failing to take home any hardware and even finishing outside the top four in the league.

With their lowest point total (58) in 30 years, Manchester United could only qualify for the Europa League by coming in sixth.

Despite this, Erik ten Hag, the team's new manager, has said that Ronaldo is still in his plans. But it appears that the forward is now choosing to withdraw.

Tony Cascarino has a theory for Cristiano's departure

According to Cascarino, he is determined to resign in order to protect his European record, which Lionel Messi, his fierce rival, may attempt to threaten. The Argentine will play for Paris Saint-Germain again in the Champions League the following year.

In a recent interview for talkSPORT he stated that "Ronaldo is a player, as always, that has an ego. A lot of it is about him but the teams he's played in have been successful, so you always go with that as a team player."

"Great, he scores goals, he gets the accolades, he's one of the greatest that's ever played the game. You can have all that and that's fine, as long as you're winning. When you don't win, now you've got a problem," he added.

With 141 goals, Ronaldo holds the record for most goals scored in the Champions League. Messi is only 16 points behind him and could close the gap if he sits out next season.

The Manchester United star wants to maintain his record, which is one of the things that makes him the player he is, Cascarino continued.

However, regarding Lionel Messi "I said to you off-air, I'm a bit suspicious because he's got 141 goals in the Champions League. Messi has got 125. He doesn't want to not play Champions League football because he wants to be the greatest Champions League scorer of all time and that's how Ronaldo is made."

Bayern Munich, Napoli and Chelsea have shown interest in Cristiano Ronaldo

Ronaldo has drawn interest from Bayern Munich, Chelsea, and Napoli. These teams have all earned spots in the Champions League for the following year.

Robert Lewandowski, who has one year left on his contract and is determined to leave the club, could leave the Bavarians this summer. Romelu Lukaku returned to Inter Milan on loan, so the Blues are currently looking for a new attacker.

The Serie A team Napoli is the underdog in this match, but they are bolstering their roster in preparation for the Champions League.