Manchester United

Manchester United

Premier League • England

Cristiano Ronaldo transfer latest: Man Utd forward to be pushed to Chelsea again, with another glamorous option ruled out

Cristiano Ronaldo Man Utd August 2022

Chelsea might be offered the services of Cristiano Ronaldo again if his situation with Manchester United becomes irreparable, according to a reporter.

Ronaldo’s future looks increasingly likely to be away from Manchester United after an interview clip was released in which he has stated he has no respect for manager Erik ten Hag. There have been more negative comments about his situation at the club – and more will follow when the full interview is published on Wednesday.

Already, there are doubts as to whether Ronaldo can continue at Manchester United beyond January. Even back in the summer, he was looking for a way out of the club.

Since then, there have been rumours about where he might end up, which are only going to become more frequent over the next couple of months.

One option for Ronaldo in the summer was Chelsea. Keen to make a statement signing under their new ownership, they identified the Portugal legend as a target. He could have gained his Champions League wish while staying within English football by joining them.

However, the move never materialised, largely because their head coach at the time, Thomas Tuchel, was against it.

According to CBS journalist Ben Jacobs, though, the idea of Ronaldo going to Chelsea could be back on – at least in the mind of his agent.

Jacobs has tweeted that Jorge Mendes is likely to offer Ronaldo to Chelsea again for the January transfer window. It is “not impossible” that the Blues might be more receptive this time around.

Interestingly, Jacobs has relayed that Tuchel spoke with ex-Man Utd interim manager Ralf Rangnick to help arrive at his verdict. He is not the first reporter to make such a claim.

Of course, Tuchel has since left the club to be replaced by Graham Potter. What’s more, further decision makers are being appointed to the board who could have their say.

That said, it remains “complicated” for Chelsea to sign Ronaldo. They have already been focusing on other forwards, such as Christopher Nkunku, Rafael Leao and Ivan Toney.

Focusing on Ronaldo would likely mean Chelsea would have to shelve another plan that they might have made more progress with. Hence, it still seems unlikely they would go for him.

Cristiano Ronaldo transfer options narrowing

But Ronaldo’s options are narrowing, so it is not surprising to see Mendes exploring his options.

In an earlier tweet, Jacobs revealed that Paris Saint-Germain will not be in contention to sign Ronaldo. The French giants are one of the few clubs in the world who can afford him, but have “no interest” in pursuing him.


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According to Jacobs, Ronaldo believed he might have had a chance of joining Paris Saint-Germain a few years ago. Now, though, the Ligue 1 champions have other targets and have ruled him out.

Hence, the prospect of him linking up with long-term Ballon d’Or rival Lionel Messi appears highly unlikely.

There won’t be too many other options for Ronaldo who could easily sustain his wages. Hence, Mendes might have to work hard to find his client a new club should Manchester United decide he has burned too many bridges.

Should Chelsea reconsider Ronaldo?

If Mendes does ask Chelsea what they think about going back in for Ronaldo, the response will be interesting to find out.

Chelsea have suffered a dip in form recently after originally looking like they were getting on track under Potter.

Several of their strikers have struggled in recent years, so perhaps Ronaldo could solve that particular issue. Despite the drama that surrounds him, it is hard to imagine a player of his calibre failing anywhere from a technical point of view.

The question Chelsea must ask is whether or not it would be worth adding the same burden on team spirit that Ronaldo seems to have caused up in Manchester.

There is a risk that the short-term benefits of having Ronaldo would be outweighed by the long-term downsides. And if they already have the signing of an exciting younger attacker like Nkunku in the pipeline, they should stick with those plans.

Hence, Chelsea should only move for Ronaldo if they are really sure of it. Maybe it would be more likely for his next move to be outside the Premier League.

But where exactly is a matter that can only become clear in time.

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