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

In the past 48 hours there has been a lot of revisiting quotes and clips from the past 12 months since Cristiano Ronaldo returned to Manchester United. He re-signed to much fanfare, but also scepticism, and so the hindsight chat and level of told-you-so has been off the charts since it emerged on Saturday evening that CR7 wants out.

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”?

Reading into those quotes on United’s website (Captain Hindsight here) it’s intriguing to note how non-committal he was, stating “Manchester will be where they belong” when the website headlined it “Ronaldo: We’ll be back where we belong”, but anyway, perhaps it is United’s inaction in the transfer window that has lit a fire in Ronaldo, particularly with Tottenham doing their bit to cut the gap on Manchester City and Liverpool, with Chelsea and Arsenal making decent moves too (although is Gabriel Jesus STILL wandering the Emirates with an Arsenal shirt on waiting for the announcement?).

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.

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…

HERE is the fixture schedule in full.

HERE is a very handy team-by-team guide.

HERE is all you need to know about England, and their prospects.

HERE are the eight stars we can’t wait to watch.

And want one more?

HERE are the eight rising stars to look out for.

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

It’s a big sorry but our hands are tied from the Africa Cup of Nations organisers, who due to the threat of playing during the rainy season in June-July 2023 have moved the tournament to January-February 2024.

“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!

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

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…

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