Seven clubs that have distanced themselves from the Cristiano Ronaldo transfer rumours: Bayern Munich, Napoli…

Man Utd striker Cristiano Ronaldo

Despite being a free agent after leaving Manchester United, Cristiano Ronaldo hasn’t been inundated with offers from Europe’s top clubs.

Ronaldo is coming towards the end of his illustrious career and scored just one Premier League goal for United this season.

While Saudi Arabian side Al Nassr are reportedly willing to offer him a big-money contract, he doesn’t have a pick of clubs to choose from.

We’ve taken a look at seven clubs that have seemingly ruled themselves out of the running.

Roma

Having worked with Jose Mourinho at Real Madrid, Ronaldo has unsurprisingly been linked with a reunion with his compatriot at Roma.

The duo had somewhat of a frosty relationship but Ronaldo was prolific for Mourinho, registering 168 goals and 49 assists in 164 matches.

While Mourinho’s side have struggled in attack this season, Roma director Tiago Pinto has poured cold water on rumours linking them with a move for the 37-year-old.

“One of the things that irritates me about Italy is that they are constantly talking about the transfer market,” Pinto said at the Thinking Football Summit.

“The truth is that Cristiano Ronaldo was never a possibility. These rumours had no foundation. But in Italy they talk every day about three different players linked with your club.

“I understand it was natural to link us because Mourinho and I are both Portuguese, and so is Cristiano. But as I said, there was never any substance in it.”

Borussia Dortmund

After securing a place in the history books in England, Spain and Italy, Ronaldo was reportedly looking to do the same thing in Germany.

According to Sport Bild, he wanted to join Dortmund in the summer and was attracted by the prospect of playing in front of 80,000 fans at Signal Iduna Park.

The Bundesliga side decided against signing the five-time Ballon d’Or winner and have seemingly ruled out any future move.

“I love this player, it’s certainly a charming idea – to see Cristiano play at Signal Iduna Park,” Dortmund chief executive Hans-Jochim Watzke said.

“He’s one of the greatest players the world has ever seen. But there is no contact at all between the parties and certainly no transfer either. So from now on, we should stop talking about it.”

Bayern Munich

After selling Robert Lewandowski to Barcelona in the summer, Bayern Munich were linked with a move for Ronaldo.

But the German side had already spent £35m on Sadio Mane and they opted against signing a direct replacement for Lewandowski.

“When you now see how our attack is equipped – even without Robert Lewandowski – it’s just difficult from a sporting and financial point of view,” sporting director Hasan Salihamidzic told BILD’s Phrasenmaher podcast when asked why they didn’t sign Ronaldo.

“We have eight players for four positions up front. We have established top players who are in the prime of their footballing age. We have talent that we want to give playing time too, so we all voted to go through with our plan.

“So that (signing Ronaldo) was out of question for us. We are very happy with how we’re equipped.”

Despite the fact that Ronaldo has left United and is now available on a free transfer, Bayern haven’t changed their stance.

“We have already dealt with this,” Bayern’s CEO Oliver Kahn told Sky Sports Germany. “We have a clear idea, a clear philosophy of how our squad should be put together.

“We all appreciate him, there’s no discussion. We all love Cristiano Ronaldo, but that’s something that doesn’t fit into our idea.”

Napoli

Ronaldo scored 81 goals in 98 Serie A appearances during his time at Juventus and was heavily linked with a move to Napoli during the summer transfer window.

Agent Jorge Mendes reportedly tried to negotiate a swap deal involving Ronaldo and Victor Osimhen but Napoli weren’t interested.

“During the transfer market we pretend to chat with everyone, and sometimes we do it for real,” club director Cristiano Giuntoli said. “But we wanted to invest in a young team.”

Luciano Spalletti’s side have since enjoyed a brilliant start to the season and are currently sit eight points clear of AC Milan at the top of the table.

Osimhen has also been in excellent form in 2022/23 and Napoli aren’t looking to sign another striker in the January transfer window.

“Ronaldo in January? We won’t sign any player in January,” Giuntoli told DAZN. “We don’t need to change anything in this team. We’re doing great and we’re not planning any signing, as of today.

“I might be repetitive, but we really are not thinking about the transfer market right now. And even if I did have to talk about it, I would say we need nothing, because there are no problems in the squad that need to be repaired.

“Things are going so well that we would not make a single move.”

Atletico Madrid

Despite spending nine years at Real Madrid, Ronaldo reportedly spoke to Atletico Madrid in the summer over a potential move.

Atletico fans reacted to the rumours and made their feelings known by unveiling a “CR7 NOT WELCOME” banner during a friendly match.

Manager Diego Simeone has since reassured fans that the club won’t be bringing the striker to the Metropolitano Stadium.

“He is an absolute benchmark for Real Madrid, you would not see it,” Simeone told AS. “You would not see (Martin) Palermo playing at River; he would not see (Juan Roman) Riquelme at River, you would not see (Ariel) Ortega at Boca… There are situations that are very clear.”

He added: “I remember that in pre-season a fan yelled a great phrase at me: ‘Cholo, be careful, the Champions League is not at all costs’. And I liked it, it’s a very healthy reflection, from the neighbourhood, from the team, from the fan, from the heart.”

Chelsea

Chelsea owner Todd Boehly has long been an admirer of Ronaldo and wanted to bring him to Stamford Bridge in the summer.

Thomas Tuchel intervened and vetoed a move for the striker, with some reports suggesting he sought advice from United’s former interim boss Ralf Rangnick.

Tuchel has since been replaced by Graham Potter in the Chelsea dugout, but the new manager reportedly has the same attitude towards Ronaldo as his predecessor.

According to the Daily Telegraph, the Blues have no plans to reignite a move for the Portugal international and are now focussing on other targets.

Burnley

Admittedly, this one should be taken with a pinch of salt.

“We need players who can run,” Burnley manager Vincent Kompany told the BBC when asked if he’d sign Ronaldo.

Burnley have enjoyed a great start to the season and are currently at the top of the Championship, having scored 40 goals in 21 games.

But if it was a realistic option, we bet Kompany would love to have the 37-year-old turning out at Turf Moor.

READ MORE: Five potential Cristiano Ronaldo replacements that Manchester United should be scouting at the World Cup

Cristiano Ronaldo

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