Ralf Rangnick urged Manchester United to sell Cristiano Ronaldo in January - Reports 

Former Manchester United interim boss Ralf Rangnick reportedly advised the club to sell Cristiano Ronaldo in January.

The German manager took over from Ole Gunnar Solskjaer in November last year and attempted to bring in a specific style of play, which involves every member of the team pressing and putting in a lot of defensive work.

Despite Cristiano Ronaldo netting 24 times in 38 appearances, may believe that the 37-year-old forward can no longer perform that role, which will be a similar task to what incoming boss Erik ten Hag will demand.

According to BBC Sport, the five-time Ballon d'Or winner has asked to leave Manchester United this summer as he believes he can still contribute to a team that is playing Champions League football.

The Athletic has now reported that Rangnick proposed the idea of selling and replacing Ronaldo to football director John Murtough and chief executive officer Richard Arnold during the January transfer window on several occasions.

The outlet claims there were several emails exchanged over this, as the now-Austria boss felt Ronaldo's time was "uncertain" at Old Trafford beyond the end of the most recent campaign. Hence he felt it made sense to sell the Portuguese superstar in January.

Furthermore, Rangnick believed Ronaldo did not represent United’s long-term vision and wanted to replace him with a player more suited to the high-pressing style. However, Murtough and Arnold denied the request.

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Manchester United reportedly set price tag for Cristiano Ronaldo

Although he scored plenty of goals for the team, Ronaldo's first season back at the Red Devils after 12 years away turned out to be a disaster as they accumulated their lowest ever Premier League points total.

The legendary forward arrived from Juventus last summer, but The Times (as per Football 365) has claimed that United are looking for an offer similar to the one they paid the Serie A giants in August 2021.

They claim that offer was an initial £12.9 million, but could have risen to £17 million due to add-ons and bonuses. Ronaldo currently has one year left on his current deal, with Chelsea having been strongly linked with the Portugal captain in recent weeks.

The report states that United are unlikely to sell to a Premier League rival, meaning Bundesliga champions Bayern Munich could be in the hotseat to pick up the icon's signature.

Cristiano Ronaldo scored 24 goals in 38 games last season. Overall, he has netted 142 goals and 71 assists in 330 games for the Red Devils.