The brouhaha around Cristiano Ronaldo‘s future at Juventus has been going on for months. After Juventus got knocked out of the Champions League in the 2019-20 season under Maurizio Sarri, the talks of Ronaldo departing Juve ignited. The clamours gathered the pace after Juve getting kicked out of the same competition — yet again at the round of 16 — but this time under the command of Andrea Pirlo.
Pirlo does not hold the same power anymore as he was shown the exit door at the Bianconeri despite providing the club with a Supercoppa Italiana and a Coppa Italia title in his first year as the manager of the Old Lady. The departure of the long-haired gaffer was followed by the return of Massimiliano Allegri to the managerial throne at Juventus. With that, the exit talks of Cristiano Ronaldo have now reached another level.
Allegri is there to get Juventus back to the pinnacle of Italian and apparently European football. He doesn’t seem bothered about the future of Ronaldo. Reports believe that the Juve hierarchy is open to letting the five-time Ballon d’Or winner leave this summer, with Allegri reportedly considering rebuilding the spine of the club around the talented youngsters.
That being said, rumours have linked Cristiano Ronaldo to a chunk of financially sustainable European sides, who can afford the Portuguese’s exorbitant expenses. Let’s rank them, in the order of being favourites, one after another.
5. Sporting CP
There is nothing to hide. If you are one supporting the fantastic Sporting CP since childhood and yearning for Cristiano Ronaldo’s return to his youth club since the day he left the club for Manchester United in 2003, you might be disappointed after learning that Ronaldo will not re-join Sporting, not at least this summer. And it is that simple and blatant.
The talks of Cristiano Ronaldo returning to his homeland came out of the blue, really. But it was not a daily paper story. Ronaldo’s mother, Dolores Aveiro, reacted to his son’s possible departure from Juventus by saying she would do anything to bring him back home. She commented:
"“I’ll talk to him to bring him back. Next year he will play in Alvalade [Sporting’s stadium].”"
After the quotes went viral and people started comprehending the situation differently, Ronaldo’s agent, Jorge Mendes, had to come in front of the camera and rule out what could have been Ronaldo’s fairytale return to his boyhood club Sporting Lisbon. Speaking to Record, a Portuguese outlet, Mendes responded:
"“Cristiano is proud of the title won by Sporting, in fact, as he has publicly demonstrated. But at the moment his career plans do not go through Portugal’."
Given the financial muscle of the newly-crowned Liga NOS champions, they might have to sell half of the squad to afford the gigantic wages of Cristiano Ronaldo whatsoever. And if the truth is to be told, Sporting’s focus must not be on bringing Cristiano Ronaldo back but producing a new one for the future generation.
4. Bayern Munich
Considered one of the best-run clubs in the world, Bayern Munich was told to be a potential suitor for Juventus’ Cristiano Ronaldo. Per a Spanish outlet in AS, Ronaldo’s services would cost any of his admirers a minimum transfer fee of €25 million. And then comes the numbers that would subsequently follow in wages.
Bayern Munich, being the richest club in Germany, have the financial backbone to land the 36-year-old prodigy, but it is again whether Ronaldo’s current state and age appease the ones driving the German club from the top. One year back, Bayern Munich President Herbert Hainer discussed Ronaldo’s arrival. He said:
"“Lots of names appear in the papers, and that is entirely understandable, but he is too old for us.”"
In one year, Ronaldo has only grown older. Recently talking to Tuttosport, Karl-Heinz Rummenigge, the Bayern Munich CEO, again denied any talks of Ronaldo joining the Bavarians sooner rather than later.
"“We had, and still have, Lewandowski. We didn’t need a striker like Ronaldo.”"
And that is it. A team that possesses the prowess of the great Robert Lewandowski, who has just finished a Bundesliga season scoring the most number of goals (41) and breaking a long-established record of Gerard Mueller, doesn’t require the aid of Cristiano Ronaldo. Therefore, we can stop digging deeper as no pot filled with golden biscuits is waiting for us there.
3. Real Madrid
Real Madrid are one of the very few clubs that own the aura of attracting any player from any club in the world. And despite not winning any title last season, they still have got that nonchalant and unworldly pulling power. The club has had got some sticks from the fans for their leading part in the failed European Super League, but it won’t apparently diminish any chance of Real Madrid losing that respective aura.
Zinedine Zidane has left his managerial post at Real Madrid, and their new manager in Carlo Ancelotti is a huge Cristiano Ronaldo devotee. However, it is not wholly that appointment of “Don Carlo” that has pushed the comeback talks of Cristiano Ronaldo.
It is Real Madrid that gave Ronaldo the platform to shine after he left Manchester United in 2009. With Los Blancos, the magnificent Portuguese phenomenon won four Champions League and became the recipient of four Ballon d’Or for his individual traits.
It is Real Madrid where Ronaldo was found enjoying his best days as a professional football. Henceforth, a return to the Santiago Bernabéu was initially thought to be on the cards for Cristiano Ronaldo, who joined Juventus from Real Madrid for an initial transfer fee of £99.2 million after becoming their all-time leading goalscorer with 451 goals.
But in reality, it will not happen, as confirmed by Real Madrid president Florentino Perez. In an interview with El Chiringuito (via TalkSport), Perez said:
"“Cristiano Ronaldo will not come back to Real Madrid. It does not make sense, he has a contract with Juventus. I love him a lot, he has given us a lot.”"
2. Manchester United
Manchester United dominate where transfer talks exist. The Premier League side gets linked to almost every player available in the market every off-season. And it has been occurring so regularly over the last few years that seeing a player getting linked with a move to Old Trafford has become a custom or a ritual nowadays.
Most of the time the Mancunian club ends up calling off their so-called interest in a so-called target. But the talks of Cristiano Ronaldo’s potential return to Manchester has different layers of ifs and buts, making the overall story somewhat believable.
Manchester United are the club that helped Cristiano Ronaldo build his foundation in the footballing world. With Sir Alex Ferguson’s hand under his head, Cristiano Ronaldo won his first Ballon d’Or in 2008. And while playing for the Red Devils, Ronaldo was eventually recognised as an appropriate challenger for Lionel Messi; and the rivalry is still going at its full pace. It would be a happy ending of a romantic saga if Cristiano Ronaldo were to re-join Manchester United.
Manchester United have Paul Pogba, a long-term transfer target for Juventus. Pogba’s contract with United is set to end in June 2022. And considering the situation, there is a feeling that a swap deal including Pogba and Ronaldo could well happen this summer, with Pogba looking destined to leave for free next summer anyway.
Manchester United have two out-and-out senior centre-forwards in Edinson Cavani and Anthony Martial. And signing Cristiano Ronaldo would only strengthen that very position further.
With Ronaldo, 36, thought to have lost his agility to run at the defenders on a consistent basis, he could be an isolated target man for Manchester United. The idea of a swap deal could be beneficial at the end of the day for both parties included. However, whether Ole Gunnar Solskjaer, the United manager, approves of bringing Ronaldo back to the “Theatre of Dreams” remains to be seen.
1. Paris Saint-Germain
Arguably Paris Saint-Germain are the best-placed team to sign Ronaldo from Juventus in the upcoming summer transfer window. Even amid the global pandemic, the QSI-backed club has no shortage of liquidity and holds a keen interest in landing another marquee signing to the club this summer.
Real Madrid has been in the hunt for the signature of PSG’s aspiring superstar Kylian Mbappe. And the consideration around the capital of France is that the golden boy of PSG could leave the club this time if an offer of such magnitude arrives on the table. Real Madrid are going to go big this summer and could eventually get success in securing the services of the 22-year-old.
One name that could fill the void in the absence of Mbappe and lift the morale of the disappointed fans of Les Parisiens is Cristiano Ronaldo. Signing Ronaldo would mean replacing a diamond with a diamond, albeit for a shorter term.
The Portuguese miracle has never played in Ligue 1, and he might see this as a new adventure, just as Neymar did quite a few years back.
A swap deal, where PSG would get Ronaldo and Mauro Icardi would go in the other direction, has also been mentioned by various news sources. And if everything goes right, Ronaldo might feature alongside Neymar Jr and Kylian Mbappe in a star-studded PSG frontline next season. PSG have come close to winning the Champions League in recent seasons. Maybe signing Cristiano Ronaldo is what the French side needs to obtain the favour of destiny.