Manchester United officials were surprised by the transfer request from star player Cristiano Ronaldo. This is according to the report from English publication Daily Mail which stated that senior Manchester United officials were caught off-guard by the exit request from the five-time Ballond’or winner.

Ronaldo, 37, has informed Manchester United officials to accept any suitable offer made for him as he desires to leave Manchester United this summer after one year following his return to the club last summer. He made his return to the Theatre of Dreams for the first time in twelve (12) years last summer. The Portuguese international signed for Manchester United from Italian Serie A side Juventus at the start of last season. He went on to score 24 goals in all competitions in the first season of his second Manchester United spell including 18 goals in the Premier League. The other six goals came in the Champions League as he failed to prevent the Red Devils from being eliminated at the hands of Spanish team Atletico Madrid at the round of 16 stage.

Since the news broke about his desire to leave Manchester United this summer, Ronaldo has been linked with a lot of teams including Premier League rivals Chelsea. It was reported that his agent Jorge Mendes met with new Chelsea owner Todd Boehly last month and he was one of the topics discussed at the meeting. Boehly is said to be keen on signing Ronaldo from Manchester United, but manager Thomas Tuchel is not as enthusiastic. Apart from Chelsea, French club Paris Saint Germain (PSG) and Bayern Munich have also been linked with the former Real Madrid and Sporting Lisbon attacker.

Ronaldo is keen to leave Manchester United as he’s not ready to play Europa League football. He wants to play Champions League football in the new season.