Cristiano Ronaldo
Cristiano Ronaldo Denies Rape Allegations At Press Conference Photo by Alex Pantling/Getty Images

Five-time Ballon d'Or winner Cristiano Ronaldo could leave Manchester United this summer as his return to Old Trafford leads to a great disappointment. Ronaldo is reportedly looking forward to discussing his options with his agent Jorge Mendes.

Ronaldo is said to be planning to have a face-to-face meeting with Mendes when he returns to Portugal in March for his national team's World Cup qualifier with Turkey.

It was previously revealed that Ronaldo is waiting for the next Man Utd manager, considering this chance to decide before anything else. However, he has suffered weak performances and struggled to form a positive relationship with interim boss Ralf Rangnick. Ronaldo appeared to clarify that he wouldn't support Rangnick's appointment. Meanwhile, the striker has no experience playing under fellow targets in consideration, such as Mauricio Pochettino and Erik Ten Hag.

The Portuguese superstar has failed to make a goal in his last five games. He has seen Man Utd being badly defeated in the FA Cup to Middlesbrough and found himself dropped for Tuesday's sad draw at Burnley. Ronaldo's contract with the club is effective until 2023. In a recent interview, Ronaldo confessed that he feared his dream return to Man Utd from Juventus last summer was in danger of turning into a nightmare.

Meanwhile, new chief executive officer Richard Arnold is still working to persuade Ronaldo to take up the option of a 12-month extension to his current £500,000 ($677,000)-a-week deal.

Aside from the long goalscoring drought, the footballer is garnering a lot of attention from Moonpig Ronaldo-themed Valentine's Day card. Moonpig's £3.49 ($4.73) card displayed the Man Utd striker celebrating with the message, "Nothing will stop me scoring this Valentine's Day."

Moonpig was slammed on social media following previous accusations of the Portuguese footballer raping former model Kathryn Mayorga in Las Vegas in 2009. A Moonpig spokesperson stated, "It's never our intention to upset anyone, we take pride in delighting our customers and go to great lengths to provide an exceptional range and service to them." They added, "When concerns were raised about this card, we removed it immediately from our site."

Mayorga once claimed that the footballer sexually assaulted her in a Vegas hotel room almost 13 years ago. She claimed to have struggled with clinical depression and post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) following the alleged assault. According to Mirror and Der Spiegel, Ronaldo settled a case with Mayorga 12 years ago for £375,000 ($507,000).

She then sought to overturn the original settlement in 2018 after being encouraged by the #MeToo movement against sexual misconduct. She sought more than £56 million ($75 million) in damages and costs. However, in October last year, a US judge recommended the civil case be dismissed, and in 2019, Las Vegas police confirmed Ronaldo would not face criminal prosecution after reopening the investigation.

Cristiano Ronaldo
Cristiano Ronaldo of Manchester United attempts a shot with an overhead kick during the Emirates FA Cup Fourth Round match between Manchester United and Middlesbrough at Old Trafford on February 04, 2022 in Manchester, England. Photo by Clive Mason/Getty Images

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