Erik ten Hag is already looking for replacements for Cristiano Ronaldo, who has told the club he wants to leave this summer, and will intensify his pursuit of Ajax forward Anthony van der Vaart.
Manchester United is preparing for life without Cristiano Ronaldo after it was revealed that the Portuguese superstar wishes to leave Old Trafford.
Sunday Mirror Sport can reveal that if Ronaldo is able to force a second departure from United, new manager Erik ten Hag will urge the club to replace the disgruntled 37-year-old striker with Ajax's young Brazilian forward Antony.
Manchester United is preparing for life without Cristiano Ronaldo after it was revealed that the Portuguese superstar wishes to leave Old Trafford.
Sunday Mirror Sport can reveal that if Ronaldo is able to force a second departure from United, new manager Erik ten Hag will urge the club to replace the disgruntled 37-year-old striker with Ajax's young Brazilian forward Antony.
When Ajax slapped a £70 million valuation on Ten Hag's head after he left the Amsterdam club to take over in Manchester, United felt they had been priced out of a move for the 22-year-old.Ten Hag, on the other hand, will put pressure on his new employers to splash the cash on Antony after it became clear that Ronaldo is ruthlessly orchestrating his departure.
United initially declined to comment on reports that the five-time Ballon d'Or winner has asked to leave if a club in the Champions League makes a satisfactory offer.
They later reiterated their stance from last week, when it was revealed that Ronaldo's agent Jorge Mendes had met with new Chelsea owner Todd Boehly about a possible move to Stamford Bridge, by saying Ronaldo is not for sale.
There have also been reports that he may reunite with Jose Mourinho at Roma.
Bayern Munich are also interested in signing Ronaldo if the Bundesliga champions lose Robert Lewandowski to Bayern Munich.
United's owners understand that the fans will be outraged if Ronaldo leaves. Ten Hag is aware of the moves made by Ronaldo's camp in recent weeks. And his solution would be to sign Antony, a Sao Paulo native who will be a member of Brazil's World Cup squad this winter.
That would mean United blowing the transfer budget they gave Ten Hag when he was hired.
They have already spent more than £120 million to sign Frenkie de Jong from Barcelona, Lisandro Martinez from Ajax, and Tyrell Malacia from Feyenoord.
They would, however, demand a fee for Ronaldo after paying Juventus £13 million to bring the Portuguese back to Old Trafford last summer. They would also save the £500,000-a-week salary that Ronaldo receives.
Ronaldo wants to play in the Champions League in his later years after spending the previous 19 years in Europe's top club competition.
He scored 24 goals in his first season back in England, but United finished sixth. Ronaldo considers the Europa League to be beneath him.
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