Cristiano Ronaldo’s transfer to Chelsea, Napoli, FC Barcelona, Bayern Munich, or Paris Saint Germain might materialize this summer as Manchester United are willing to listen to the aforementioned clubs and any other interested club.
Recall that Cristiano Ronaldo recently broke the hearts of millions of Manchester United supporters when he directed his agent Jorge Mendes to start looking for his next destination. The 37-year-old Portuguese football icon did not end there, he has officially informed Manchester United to sell him if any club makes any reasonable offer for his services.
Despite Cristiano Ronaldo’s transfer request, Manchester United made it categorically clear that they would not sell the Portuguese star who returned to the club in August 2021 after 12 years at Real Madrid and Juventus.
Ronaldo who still has a season left on his contract with United and finished last season with 24 goals in all competitions, does not want to play Europa League football which United managed to qualify for after finishing 6th in last season’s Premier League campaign. Hence, he is hunting for a club that can guarantee him UEFA Champions League football.
To increase the certainty over his future, the football star has not shown up for pre-season training in four straight days over family reasons which United had accepted. This means that Ronaldo is yet to meet with Manchester United’s new coach Erik ten Hag who was planning to build his team around the five times Ballon d’Or winner.
🗣 “Manchester United will listen to offers for him [Cristiano Ronaldo].
— Football Daily (@footballdaily) July 7, 2022
[via @SkyKaveh]. pic.twitter.com/TseeVRib7G
Since Cristiano Ronaldo’s transfer saga started, agent Mendes has reportedly met with a series of club executives to convince them that Ronaldo still has both on and off-field value to offer any club he plays for.
One of the club executives the Portuguese agent has sold Cristiano Ronaldo’s transfer interest to was Chelsea’s new co-owner Todd Boehly who is said to be very interested in buying the 37-year-old if coach Thomas Tuchel is convinced about the deal.
Recent reports in the United Kingdom claimed that Chelsea are “preparing a £14 million bid” for Ronaldo who still has a season left on his contract with the Red Devils.
Also, Futballnews has reported that FC Barcelona president Joan Laporta has confirmed that he had a meeting with Cristiano Ronaldo’s agent to discuss the transfer market. Hence, rumor has it that the Portuguese football icon who has played for Real Madrid for 9 years could join Madrid’s arch-rivals FC Barcelona this summer.
Earlier, FC Bayern Munich was linked with Cristiano Ronaldo’s transfer but the club has debunked such speculation. While Napoli are said to be pushing very hard for the deal.
As it stands, Chelsea are at the forefront in the quest to grab Ronaldo’s signature this summer despite the heavy wage bill that he might attract. Now that Manchester United are reportedly willing to listen to suitors for Ronaldo, Chelsea and other suitors are expected to submit bids for the five-time Ballon d’Or winner.
Before now, Manchester United was not too focused on signing a striker due to the availability of Ronaldo. But now that they are willing to listen to Ronaldo’s suitors, they will have to start searching for a prolific striker to replace the Portuguese legend.
🗣️”Is Ronaldo willing to take a pay-cut to play Champions League football?”
— Sky Sports News (@SkySportsNews) July 5, 2022
Chief reporter Kaveh Solhekol analyses Cristiano Ronaldo’s future at Manchester United. pic.twitter.com/dXT2gA6DPW