Released from his contract by Manchester United, after releasing the flamethrower in an interview, Cristiano Ronaldo is now unemployed. And while the former Real Madrid will try to win the World Cup in Portugal, Jorge Mendes will heat up his mobile phone to find a new base for his best client.
Par Steven Oliveira
Wednesday, November 23
What future for Cristiano Ronaldo?
Courted by Manchester City in the summer of 2021, Cristiano Ronaldo had finally made the choice of Red Devils. Now Pep Guardiola has Erling Haaland at the forefront of his attack, so there’s no way the Citizens come back to charge. On the other hand, other clubs in England could be interested in him. This is particularly the case for Chelsea, who already wanted to bring him in this summer before seeing Thomas Tuchel put his veto. Thirteenth attack in the Premier League, the Blues would really need an attacker capable of planting a few pawns. And then Thiago Silva recalled that the elders feel good in London. But another club could join the dance: Newcastle. Bought by a Saudi fund a year ago, the Magpies do well sportingly with a third place in the Premier League. A success that can be explained by intelligent recruitment despite millions in the bank. Except that Saudi Arabia would not say no to a gondola head like Cristiano Ronaldo to be the image of their new project. And CR7 would not say no to a club that could allow him to find the C1. Especially if he can, in passing, prevent Manchester United from qualifying for the Champions League.
After being crowned champion and top scorer in England, Spain and Italy, Cristiano Ronaldo could succeed in the Grand Slam by settling down in Germany. And more precisely at Bayern Munich who did not replace Robert Lewandowski as number 9, since it is currently Eric Maxim Choupo-Moting who plays this role. And if the Cameroonian striker manages to chain the pawns, there is no reason for CR7 not to take advantage of the caviars of Musiala, Mané, Müller, Sané or even Gnabry to slam goals in spades. And he could even take the opportunity to play (and win) the Champions League this season, just to enter a little more in the record books. Unless he prefers another major European championship and another club qualified in C1: Paris Saint-Germain where he could form a magic square with Messi, Neymar and Mbappé which is logically only possible on FIFA. Especially since with Luis Campos, PSG imposes Portuguese passports for recruits. Or else, he joined Olympique Lyonnais to play under the orders of Laurent Blanc and prove Gilles Favard right.
During his famous flamethrower interview given to Piers Morgan, Cristiano Ronaldo said he was not ready to put away his cleats yet: “I want to play 2 or 3 more years. I want to finish at 40. I think 40 will be a good age… but I don’t know, I don’t know the future. » Except that in the process, CR7 dropped a small bomb: “A retirement if I win the World Cup with Portugal? Yes, 100%. » At that time, everyone deciphered this sentence thinking of an international retirement, which would make sense, since Cristiano would then have won everything with the Selection. Except that CR7 was perhaps talking about a retirement altogether. It must be said that there is really no better end than a departure after having lifted the first World Cup in the history of Portugal. Cristiano would then have finished the game and could devote himself to the career of his son Cristiano Jr who, too, is again on the transfer market. And he is probably more in demand than his father.
His second stint at Manchester United reminded him, it’s never good to get back together with your ex. However, the future of Cristiano Ronaldo could make him return to the arms of an old acquaintance. Not Real Madrid – though -, but Sporting Portugal, now the only club where he is still unanimous with supporters, who have never forgotten his debut with the lions. An operation that could be carried out only if the one who is socio of the club agrees to drastically lower his salary. In Lisbon, Ronaldo will not immediately return to the Champions League, but he can still play in the Europa League and why not eliminate Manchester United. Unless CR7 returns to where it all started for him, in Madeira. The island where he was born, where he has his museum, where the airport bears his name. And where he could buy his first club CD Nacional – which plays in the second division – or CS Marítimo (1e division) and thus change the name to CS Ronaldo with a logo that would represent him doing his famous celebration. At least he would be sure not to start a game on the bench again. One thing is certain, he will never bring in Erik ten Hag as a coach.
350 million euros for two years of contract. Here is the sum offered by Saudi club Al-Hilal that Cristiano Ronaldo turned down last summer, as he confirmed to Piers Morgan in his interview: “It was very hard to refuse, but on the other hand I was very happy here in Manchester and I still thought I could score a lot of goals. » Now unhappy in Manchester, Ronaldo could then change his mind and accept an offer similar to this one from Saudi Arabia, Qatar or the United Arab Emirates. Especially since Saudi fans imitated his celebration after the victory of theirs against Lionel Messi’s Argentina in the World Cup.
Other possibilities: MLS, Roma, Atlético de Madrid, Brazil, Napoli, Real Madrid, SoFoot Club…
Par Steven Oliveira
