“He’s holding the club to ransom” – Trevor Sinclair makes bold claim about Cristiano Ronaldo trying to bully Manchester United

Former England winger Trevor Sinclair has claimed that Cristiano Ronaldo is holding Manchester United to ransom.

Sky Sports have claimed that the 37-year-old wants to leave Old Trafford this summer for Champions League football, despite having a year left on his contract.

Speaking to Talksport, Sinclair warned United not to give in too easily to Cristiano Ronaldo's demands. He proclaimed:

“He's holding the club to ransom. We've seen it. I mean, get your head around this. Can you imagine a player holding Klopp? Pep, I mean, even Aguero had to sort himself out with the way that he plays when Pep arrived at the club.

"Conte, Tuchel, we've already seen him with Lukaku last season. He wasn't suffering any of his shenanigans. And then even Arteta, a young manager with Aubameyang, the star player, he just said, by the way, you're not playing. I'll get you out of here as soon as I can.

“So in this situation, Ronaldo is trying to leave and Erik ten Hag is new in the job. It's a difficult situation for him to be in. But I don't want to see this. I don't want to see Manchester United as a huge football club getting bullied by a player. And I don't care who that player is.

"And I think that's what Ronaldo is trying to do. And I've always been brought up with respect for clubs where no player is bigger than the club. And I think if Manchester United has heed to Ronaldo's demands, I think they're proving that they can be bullied by a footballer.”

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Cristiano Ronaldo misses United's pre-season friendly against Wrexham

After opting out of United's pre-season tour of Thailand and Australia, The Telegraph has claimed that Ronaldo has now missed a behind-closed doors clash with non-league outfit Wrexham.

He was, however, present to watch the 4-1 win against the Welsh club, owned by Hollywood superstars Ryan Reynolds and Rob McElhenney.

The Portuguese icon returned to Old Trafford after 12 years, finishing as their highest goal-scorer last season with 24 goals in 38 appearances across all competitions. However, his side endured a dreadful campaign as they finished sixth and collected their lowest-ever Premier League points total (58), while also failing to win a trophy.

They have enjoyed an unbeaten run in their pre-season fixtures so far, with three wins and a draw. They will face Atletico Madrid in Oslo on July 30 and return home for their final pre-season game against Rayo Vallecano the next day.

The Red Devils will begin their Premier League campaign against Brighton and Hove Albion at Old Trafford on August 7.