Cristiano Ronaldo: Wantaway Man Utd star receives transfer offer from Australia

A-League boss Danny Townsend has made a bid to lure Cristiano Ronaldo into Australia’s top flight, while admitting it may not be financially able to compete with rival offers for the disgruntled Manchester United star.

Ronaldo’s future at United is up in the air after he said in an interview with Piers Morgan that he felt “betrayed” by the Premier League club and had no respect for his manager Erik ten Hag.

Townsend told Australian media on Thursday that he had made an offer to Ronaldo’s agent, Jorge Mendes, in case Ronaldo part ways with United.

“Ronaldo said he didn’t get love and respect at Manchester United, but we will definitely give him a lot of love and respect in Australia,” Townsend said in a commentary published by News Corp.

“We may not be able to compete with other offerings financially, but we can compete in other ways.”

Ronaldo’s former United teammate Nani joined A-League club Melbourne Victory this season.

Ronaldo, the top scorer in the history of international men’s football with 117 goals in 191 official games, is preparing to lead Portugal in Qatar in its fifth World Cup.

“Obviously it’s a gamble, but we certainly have an attractive proposition for him to consider here in Australia,” Townsend told local radio station SportsFM earlier on Thursday.

Should the A-League land a sensational strike for Ronaldo, the 37-year-old would be the most high-profile star to ever compete in Australia’s domestic league.

Players like Alessandro del Piero, Dwight Yorke and David Villa have all represented Down Under clubs, but the arrival of Ronaldo would be top notch.

Townsend’s offer comes after Sportsmail revealed that Ronaldo’s United teammates want him gone after the World Cup ends in Qatar.

The feeling among the side is that it would be better if United find a way to upset Ronaldo while he is at the World Cup and the 37-year-old Portuguese star does not return to Old Trafford.

The mood will not have improved after the first episode of Ronaldo’s sit-down with Piers Morgan aired on Wednesday night, in which he criticized the attitude of United’s young players and said only his Portuguese team-mate Diogo Dalot is destined for a long career at the top. .

Their hunger [is different]. I think they have things easier, everything is easy, they don’t suffer – and they don’t care,” said Ronaldo.

“If you tell me what I see at Manchester United, I can probably name Diogo Dalot. He is young, but he is very professional and I have no doubt that he will have a long life in football.

“We’ve got a few more — probably (Lisandro) Martinez — but like Dalot, it’s hard to say.”

Ronaldo confirmed he was “close” to Manchester City before United brought him back last year, questioned the club’s decision to sack Ole Gunnar Solskjaer and was scathing about the ideas of the Norwegian’s replacement, interim manager Ralf Rangnick.

“The new coaches coming along think they’ve found the last Coca-Cola in the desert,” he added.

Ronaldo’s outspoken views on Ten Hag will be broadcast in part two of the interview on Thursday night, but his teammates believe he betrayed Ten Hag and the club, not the other way around, as he claims.

Raphael Varane was the first United player to talk about Ronaldo on Wednesday, saying: “Obviously it affects us. We follow what is happening. We try to calm the situation down in our own way and not get too involved.

“When it’s a star like Cristiano, we try to distance ourselves even more, that is, we don’t just try to change the situation, we are part of a collective.

“What I want is the best for my team, so whatever decision the club makes, we will accept it.”

Ronaldo, who missed United’s last two games through illness, was absent from Portugal’s training session in Lisbon on Wednesday due to a stomach flu and is a doubt for Thursday’s final World Cup warm-up game against Nigeria.