Cristiano Ronaldo boosts Manchester United; Eden Hazard to quit Chelsea; Gareth Bale weighs up his future

Manchester United’s hopes of signing Cristiano Ronaldo have been boosted as it emerged the Portuguese star is set to leave Real Madrid despite Zinedine Zidane’s appointment as manager.


Zidane replaced Rafael Benitez this week after the Spaniard was sacked following his side’s 2-2 draw with Valencia on Saturday. The Daily Telegraph reports that the Frenchman is keen to play Ronaldo in a three-man attack this season – but he is still expected to leave at the end of the campaign.

Ronaldo’s future is likely to dominate headlines during the summer, with United and Paris Saint-Germain the favourites to sign him. Ronaldo spent six years at Old Trafford, however, winning the Premier League three times and the Champions League twice, as well as the FA Cup and two league cups.

Zidane greets Madrid squad as manager
Meanwhile, The Daily Mail report Eden Hazard has made up his mind to leave Chelsea at the end of the season and could be the subject of a £45m offer from PSG. Hazard and Chelsea face PSG in the last 16 of the Champions League next month.

The French club’s ambition to sign just about every superstar in Europe will also include a move for Gareth Bale, according to The Sun. Bale is reported to be worried about his future at Real following the sacking of Benitez. The Welshman is also interesting United, Chelsea and Bayern Munich, but would not come cheap – the Spaniards value him at around £120m.

Italian newspaper Gazetta dello Sport report United midfielder Marouane Fellaini could be on his way to AC Milan. Fellaini, to some the very epitomy of a square peg in a round hole at Old Trafford, is reported to be attracting interest from Juventus and Roma.

With the manager merry-go-round also in full swing this season, the Manchester Evening News report that United expect Pep Guardiola to become City’s next manager. They say the Red Devils have resigned themselves to seeing the Spaniard at the Etihad next season, and so will not challenge for his signature if and when Louis van Gaal leaves Old Trafford.

Elsewhere, Liverpool's remarkable injury crisis could in part be solved by Dortmund centre-back Neven Subotic, according to the Daily Mirror. Jurgen Klopp has no fit centre-halves, and his bid to avoid ever having to play Lucas Leiva in defence again has prompted him to approach his former club about signing Subotic before the FA Cup tie at Exeter on Friday night. The same paper reports that Inter Milan's Andrea Ranocchia could be another option.