Cristiano Ronaldo could be joined at Saudi club Al Nassr by another current Manchester United player. The player is none other than Alex Telles.
Telles joined United from Porto in 2020 for a cost of £15.4 million, with a contract that would keep him with the Red Devils until 2024. However, things did not go as planned in Old Trafford, with the 30-year-old left back making only nine appearances in his debut season.
While Erik ten Hag was brought in, he was loaned out to Sevilla, who ironically also smashed United out of the Europa League last month.
Telles has failed to find consistent playing time under Sevilla manager José Luis Mendilibar. Argentine World Cup winner Marcos Acuna is the Andalusian side’s first choice left-back. As a result, Sevilla will not attempt to sign the player on a permanent basis at the conclusion of the season.
Why could Alex Telles leave Manchester United?
Ten Haag is also said to want the player out of the club. The Dutch manager is keen for an opportunity to cash in on the Brazilian this summer. This is in order to prevent losing him for free the following year when his contract expires.
Telles got involved in a training ground brawl with former Manchester United player Hannibal Mejbri in May of last year. This was shortly before Ten Hag took over as manager. Even though Ten Hag was not in charge at the time, he was informed of the situation and agreed to loan both players out.
According to the Spanish news site Diario AS, Telles might be reunited with Cristiano Ronaldo at Al-Nassr. The Saudi Arabian club is looking to sign a left-back this summer and has the financial means to lure Telles to the Saudi Pro League.
Al Nassr is looking to bolster their squad with many players from Europe. We could see many players from European clubs join Al Nassr in the following years. However, Telles who features in the Brazil squad regularly may not want to move to a lower-quality league while still at the prime age of 30. They were also interested in bringing Real Madrid talisman Karim Benzema to the club.
Ten Haag and Cristiano Ronaldo
Ten Hag is planning a big defender exodus this summer. He wants Harry Maguire, Brandon Williams, Axel Tuanzebe, Phil Jones, and Eric Bailly out of the club. All are linked with moves away from Old Trafford.
Indeed, the United manager will need to free up funds in order to fund a move for the world-class striker he so desperately wants. Either in-form Nigerian striker Victor Osimhein or Tottenham talisman Harry Kane could join the Red Devils in the summer.
Telles won’t be the first player to leave Manchester United due to Ten Haag. The manager previously let legendary superstar Cristiano Ronaldo leave the club in November of last year. This was after the pair were in disagreement over Ronaldo’s limited playing time and role. The final straw came after the Portuguese striker gave a bombshell interview with Piers Morgan. He had insulted the Dutchman and the club and this led to his departure.
Cristiano Ronaldo then joined Saudi club Al Nassr in January. He has since scored 12 goals in 15 games rediscovering his form. However, he could be trophyless there this season and is also involved in a lot of negative incidents. It remains to be seen whether Ronaldo is rejoined by Alex Telles in the following transfer window.
