Cristiano Ronaldo: Wantaway Man Utd star receives transfer offer from Australia

A-League boss Danny Townsend has made a bid to lure Cristiano Ronaldo to the Australian top flight, while admitting it might not be able to compete financially with rival offers for the disaffected Manchester United star.

Ronaldo’s future at United is up in the air after he said he felt ‘betrayed’ by the Premier League club and had no respect for its manager Erik ten Hag in an interview with Piers Morgan.

Townsend told Australian media on Thursday that he had made an offer to Ronaldo’s agent, Jorge Mendes, in case Ronaldo parts ways with United.

Cristiano Ronaldo has been offered an unlikely escape route out of Manchester United

The Portuguese superstar expressed his discontent with the club in a Piers Morgan interview

‘(Ronaldo) said he wasn’t getting any love and respect at Manchester United but we’ll certainly give him plenty of love and respect in Australia,’ Townsend said in comments published by News Corp.

‘We might not be able to compete financially with other offers but we can compete in other ways.’

Ronaldo’s former United team mate Nani joined A-League club Melbourne Victory this season.

A-League chief Danny Townsend says Australia can offer Ronaldo ‘love and respect’ 

He revealed that he has already contacted Ronaldo’s agent Jorge Mendes (R) over a move

Ronaldo, the leading scorer in the history of men’s international football with 117 goals in 191 official matches, is preparing to lead Portugal in Qatar in his fifth World Cup.

‘Obviously it’s a long shot but we’ve certainly got a compelling proposition for him here in Australia to consider,’ Townsend told local radio station SportsFM earlier on Thursday.

Should the A-League complete a sensational swoop for Ronaldo, the 37-year-old would be the most high-profile star to ever compete in Australia’s domestic competition.

The likes of Alessandro del Piero, Dwight Yorke and David Villa have all represented clubs Down Under, but Ronaldo’s arrival would top the lot.  

Ronaldo’s former United teammate Nani (L) moved to Melbourne Victory earlier this year

Townsend’s offer comes after Sportsmail revealed that Ronaldo’s United teammates want him gone after the World Cup concludes in Qatar.

The feeling among the squad is that it would be better if United find a way of offloading Ronaldo while he is at the World Cup and the 37-year-old Portugal star does not return to Old Trafford.

The mood will not have improved after the first instalment of Ronaldo’s sit-down with Piers Morgan aired on Wednesday night in which he criticised the attitude of United’s young players and said that only his Portugal teammate Diogo Dalot is destined for a long career at the top.

‘Their hunger [is different]. I think they have things more easily, everything’s easy, they don’t suffer – and they don’t care,’ said Ronaldo.

‘If you tell me what I see in Manchester United, I can mention probably Diogo Dalot. He’s young but he’s very professional and I have no doubts that he’s going to have longevity in football.

‘We have a few ones more – probably (Lisandro) Martinez – but like Dalot it’s difficult to say.’ 

Ronaldo confirmed that he was ‘close’ to joining Manchester City before United brought him back last year, questioned the club’s decision to sack Ole Gunnar Solskjaer, and was scathing about the ideas of the Norwegian’s replacement, interim manager Ralf Rangnick.

‘The new coaches coming around, they think they have found the last Coca Cola in the desert,’ he added.

Sportsmail understands Ronaldo’s teammates at United want him gone after the World Cup

Ronaldo’s outspoken views on Ten Hag will air in part two of the interview on Thursday night, but his team-mates believe he has betrayed Ten Hag and the club, not the other way around as he claims.

Raphael Varane was the first United player to speak about Ronaldo on Wednesday, saying: ‘Obviously it affects us. We follow what is happening. We try to calm the situation in our own way and not to get too involved.

‘When it’s a star like Cristiano, even more so we try to take it with distance, that is to say that we do not try to change the situation alone, we are part of a collective.

‘What I want is the best for my team so whatever the decision the club reach we will accept it.’ 

Ronaldo, who missed United’s last two games through illness, was absent from Portugal’s training session in Lisbon on Wednesday due to a stomach bug and is a doubt for Thursday’s final World Cup warm-up game against Nigeria.