Man Utd plot £10m Cristiano Ronaldo and Michael Carrick reunion after humiliating exits

Manchester United were dumped out of the Carabao Cup and the FA Cup at the earliest opportunity and have now appointed Michael Carrick as interim manager until the end of the season

Manchester United's interim boss Michael Carrick could be in for an unexpected reunion with Cristiano Ronaldo in a move that could potentially bring in £10m for the club. The Sun reports that the Reds are considering a mid-season friendly in Saudi Arabia to help plug the club's financial gap, which would reunite the two United icons.

It is suggested that a trip to Saudi Arabia could net around £10million, especially with only 17 matches left this season following their early FA Cup exit. The loss to Brighton marked the earliest United have been knocked out of both domestic trophies since the 1981-82 season.

With no place in European football last year, the club is now set to play just 40 games this campaign, the fewest in a season for 111 years. Last season, United earned £160.3m in match-day revenue from 30 games, boosted by their journey to the Europa League Final, where they were ultimately defeated by Tottenham Hotspur.

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Now, the club will host ten fewer games at Old Trafford this season compared to the previous one, with each game estimated to be worth approximately £5.3 million. Their FA Cup exit has created two gaps in the schedule when the fourth and fifth rounds of the competition are due to occur.

This means United will have a 13-day break in February and a further 10-day hiatus in March before the international break. The newspaper reports that United have been in discussions with the chairman of the General Entertainment Authority of Saudi Arabia about a potential visit to the country.

While it's not guaranteed that the club will end up visiting the Middle East, if they do, they could potentially face Ronaldo's Al-Nassr as part of the proposed plans for The Riyadh Season Cup. Carrick shared the pitch with the Portuguese superstar during the 2000s and later managed Ronaldo during his first stint as caretaker manager back in 2021.

The Riyadh Season typically runs from October to March, and the aforementioned cup - a three-way tournament against Ronaldo's team and fellow capital club Al-Hilal - could be on the cards. United missed out on a whopping £100m in prize money after their defeat to Spurs in the Europa League Final last May, which resulted in a significant drop in match-day revenue.

To counteract this shortfall, the club decided to increase ticket prices, with new executive seating in the lower South Stand at Old Trafford also introduced as a measure to offset any loss of income. The pre-season tour of Asia saw Sir Jim Ratcliffe and Co. rake in around £7.8million, while a trip to the US almost matched that figure a month later.

Other clubs such as AC Milan, RB Leipzig and Sevilla also failed to secure European football and could be potential opponents if a mid-season friendly is arranged.

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