Manchester United in heated 3-horse race to sign £83 million-rated Cristiano Ronaldo teammate: Reports

Manchester United are reportedly set to face difficult competition from two other clubs in the race to snap up Cristiano Ronaldo's international teammate Rafael Leao.

According to Spanish website Fichajes.net, AC Milan are prepared to entertain offers for Leao in the upcoming summer transfer window. They have set a price tag of £83 million for the ex-Sporting CP and LOSC Lille ace.

Al-Hilal, who are the reigning Saudi Pro League champions, are allegedly keen to lodge a bid to add Leao to their ranks this summer. They have identified the player as a replacement for Brazil and Santos star Neymar.

On the other hand, Manchester United are aiming to launch a permanent move for Ronaldo's Portugal teammate after the end of this campaign. Red Devils head coach Ruben Amorim is a huge admirer of the attacker.

Meanwhile, Manchester City also have the Milan winger in their sights with Jack Grealish and Jeremy Doku reportedly expected to leave this year. Pep Guardiola's outfit consider the right-footed player an apt signing.

Leao, who has played alongside Ronaldo 28 times for Portugal so far, is enduring a lacklustre season by his standards. The 25-year-old has contributed nine goals and eight assists in 36 total games for Milan this term.

Ex-Manchester United player snubs Cristiano Ronaldo as best footballer he has played with

During his time with Manchester United's senior side from 2015 to 2023, Ipswich Town star Axel Tuanzebe trained with top footballers like Cristiano Ronaldo and Wayne Rooney. However, he has named ex-Red Devils man Bastian Schweinsteiger as the best player he has ever played with.

Speaking on The Overlap, the 27-year-old defender opined (h/t Metro):

"He was 34, 35 at the time... I could not get anywhere near him and I'm 19 at this point so I've got legs for days! He was three, four, five steps ahead of me. He knew how to control the ball and make me off balance. He was incredible in the box, I've never seen a player [like him]... he had an ability to slow down time."

Tuanzebe, who has made 34 total appearances for Ipswich, concluded:

"The ball, it's like a ping pong in there especially at that level. You had a box of [Wayne] Rooney, Zlatan Ibrahimovic, Ashley Young, Michael Carrick, Schweinsteiger. In four or five days [of training], you might see him in the middle twice. It was unbelievable."

From 2015 to 2017, Schweinsteiger scored two goals and contributed two assists in 35 outings across all competitions for Manchester United.