The soap opera does not seem close to being finished. Officially, Cristiano Ronaldo did not accompany his Manchester United team-mates on the pre-season tour of Asia “for private reasons”. But behind the scenes, everyone knows that this absence hides a real desire to leave.
Disappointed with the past season and wanting to play the Champions League rather than the Europa League, the Portuguese wants a transfer, twelve months from the end of his contract. But two problems arise.
First the refusal of Manchester United to part with it. “Cristiano is not for sale, he is in our plans and we want to succeed together”Mancunian manager Erik ten Hag said earlier this week.
It would be surprising, however, if the club went once morest the 37-year-old superstar’s wishes. But the second problem arises: which club will have the financial possibility and the place in its workforce to welcome him?
His agent Jorge Mendes himself would have been in contact with Chelsea then PSG. Without success. Thomas Tuchel would not be interested in Ronaldo for the Blues attack, while the Parisians would rather favor less bling-bling transfers to balance their workforce.
Seeing the situation get bogged down, a Saudi club would have offered him an annual salary of 120 million euros to make him the highest paid player in the world, according to the Spanish daily AS. It would nevertheless be surprising if CR7, already a multimillionaire, gave in to financial temptation at the expense of his sporting goals.
The fivefold Ballon d’Or therefore seems to be at an impasse. Waiting for another European cador to open up to the idea of welcoming him… or finally agreeing to stay at United.
