'The press won't make money if they don't lie' – Ronaldo suggests he is staying at United

Cristiano Ronaldo has hit back at reports suggesting that he is insisting on leaving Manchester United following his meeting with manager Erik Ten Hag about his future, earlier this week.

Due to family obligations, the Portuguese captain missed United's preseason tour of Thailand and Australia earlier this month but returned to Carrington earlier this week, in the company of his agent Jorge Mendes to discuss with Ten Hag his future.

Former United manager Sir Alex Ferguson and Richard Arnold were also pictured arriving at Carrington on Tuesday morning.

Ronaldo is said to want to leave the Red Devils because of their sluggishness in the transfer market, and their failure to have qualified for this season's Champions League, which resulted in a 25% pay cut.

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'NO WAY RON!' Bayern Munich become 5th club to reject Ronaldo

Since the first report of his desire to leave the club, Manchester United announced Tyrell Malacia's signing from Feyenoord, Christian Eriksen and Ajax's Lisandro Martinez.

An Instagram account dedicated to the football star published the widely reported news of Ronaldo's intention to leave the club despite meeting with Ten Hag.

"Jorge Mendes told Manchester United that Cristiano Ronaldo is adamant about leaving, but Mendes left negotiations less than positive that Ronaldo would get his move. Sir Alex Ferguson has intervened. United insist Ronaldo is not for sale," @cristianoronaldoish published on social media.

In response, Ronaldo commented: "It's impossible not to talk about me one day. Otherwise, the press won't make money. They know that if they don't lie, they can't attract people's attention. Keep going, one day you'll get some news right."

Earlier this month, Bayern Munich became the 5th club to reject the opportunity of signing Ronaldo, following the footsteps of PSG, Chelsea, Real Madrid and Inter Milan.

He was also rumoured to have turned down a proposal to join an unnamed Saudi Arabian club, that would have made the United superstar the highest-paid footballer in the history of football.

Speaking on the Ronaldo matter, Bayern Munich director Oliver Kahn told German tabloid Bild: “We discussed about Cristiano Ronaldo internally - I consider him one of greatest footballers ever”

“Then we came to conclusion that, despite appreciation for Cristiano, he would not fit into our philosophy in the current situation”.