Man Utd 'price Ronaldo' as Chelsea and Bayern lead race for runaway striker

Manchester United would like to recover the money spent to bring Cristiano Ronaldo to Old Trafford to allow the Portuguese star to leave this summer.

Ronaldo dropped a bombshell on Saturday when it was revealed he wanted to leave United to play Champions League football.

MAILBOX: Ronaldo alternatives for Ten Hag; Cheap Man Utd hooker De Jong teases

The 37-year-old - who scored 24 goals in all competitions for United last season - believes the club are falling short of their ambition.

Reports claimed that although the player told the club he wanted to leave if the Red Devils received a 'suitable offer', the club had no intention of letting Ronaldo leave.

But The Times claims United would be willing to listen to offers, if suitors offered at least the £12.9m they paid Juventus for his services last August as they beat Manchester City on signing.

This deal included bonuses and add-ons, bringing the overall amount to £17m.

Chelsea can afford such a deal and are said to be favorites to sign Ronaldo after Todd Boehly recently held talks with his agent Jorge Mendes.

But United are unlikely to sell their prized asset to a Premier League rival, meaning Bayern Munich could become Ronaldo's landing spot as he looks to deal with the potential departure of Robert Lewandowski, who is desperate to join Barcelona this summer.

A return to Serie A has also been mooted, with Napoli linked, while two former Italy internationals claimed on Friday he had moved to Rome to team up with Jose Mourinho, although that seems unlikely as they don't will not. play the Champions League next season.

Former Roma defender Fabio Petruzzi said: "I know for a fact from a highly accredited person that Roma are trying to get Cristiano Ronaldo by all means. The details will have to be worked out, for the rights in the image, but I know he will leave United."

And former Juventus and Italy midfielder Angelo Di Livio was told July 7 "could be the date of the announcement" after speaking to "several sources".

Di Livio said: "I know from several sources that Roma are trying to sign Cristiano Ronaldo and July 7 could be the date of the announcement. By chance I spoke with a friend who works in TV and he found out about the negotiations for Cristiano from an important club official during a dinner a few days ago."