Cristiano Ronaldo playing role in Casemiro transfer talks as Man Utd face wait

Casemiro is being lined up to move from Manchester United to the Saudi Pro League in January - and Cristiano Ronaldo wants him at Al-Nassr.

The ailing midfielder endured a nightmare 2024 but still has 18 months on his contract and turns 33 next month. Casemiro's performance in the recent dismal 2-0 defeat at home to Newcastle could prove to be the final nail in his coffin, with Ruben Amorim dropping him for Sunday's encouraging 2-2 draw away to Liverpool.

United put Casemiro up for sale a year ago but the Brazilian has stayed put, although Ronaldo could help his old club bring in some much-needed funds. The Telegraph report that Saudi chiefs want to bring five-time Champions League winner Casemiro to the Middle East and Al-Nassr is his most likely destination.

Ronaldo, who played alongside Casemiro at both Real Madrid and United, is understood to be keen on a reunion. His own lucrative contract expires with Al-Nassr this summer but linking up with his ex-team-mate would suggest that the soon-to-be 40-year-old plans to sign a new deal.

United are keen to offload Casemiro, who earns an eye-watering £350,00 per week, and use the funds from his exit to sign a new midfielder. They'll only be able to sign their desired target once he's departed Old Trafford, so it could be an anxious wait

Elsewhere, United are keen to sign Paris Saint-Germain left-back Nuno Mendes. The Portugal international, 22, worked with Red Devils boss Amorim at former club Sporting Lisbon but PSG want him to stay and sign a new deal, as he's also entered the final 18 months of his contract.

United will need to sell before buying in January to avoid risking financial sanctions and Amorim said of their plans last week: "When the window is open, we can try to do something and we will try to do something."

"But I think, in the next weeks, we are going to have more time to train and we can improve, that's the only way. We had a lot of games without training, now we will have more space to grow. You can see that the context is worse in this moment, as we had a lot of losses, so we have to manage everything."

Pushed on what positions he and the Red Devils' recruitment team are targeting, Amorim replied: "I will keep that to myself. But we'll try to do something."