Chelsea are the latest club linked with making a move for Manchester United’s Cristiano Ronaldo and stoked up speculation surrounding the 37-year-old’s future should act as a warning to the Glazers
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What Cristiano Ronaldo wants, he almost always gets.
Be it records, silverware, playing time or a transfer to the team of his choosing, the Portuguese superstar’s status is so elevated these days that he often possesses the power to call the shots. Amid renewed transfer speculation suggesting the likes of Bayern Munich and Chelsea are circling, it seems the Manchester United icon is once again laying down his demands – but it may not be for the reasons you think.
Murmurs of discontent, of Ronaldo contemplating his future, suggest, on the face of it, that the 37-year-old may well be tired of the ongoing turmoil at Old Trafford and keen to up sticks again this summer in order to appease his incessant appetite for success elsewhere. However, on the contrary, he may well be sending a pointed message to his current employers.
Ronaldo has emerged as a potential transfer target for new Chelsea owner Todd Boehly. The American tycoon is understood to have met with the striker’s agent, Jorge Mendes, in Portugal last week, where the prospect of the five-time Ballon d’Or winner swapping Old Trafford for Stamford Bridge was mooted.
The news breaks just days after Bayern Munich were linked to the famed forward, reportedly viewing him as a potential successor to the apparently Barcelona-bound Robert Lewandowski. The word on the streets outside Old Trafford appears to be that Ronaldo is growing disgruntled, despite the United hierarchy insisting he’s going nowhere.
And while that could genuinely be the case, it wouldn’t come as a surprise to learn stoked up speculation of a potential summer exit are part of Ronaldo’s ploy. While talk of the United No.7s departure will no doubt have sparked fear among some of a Red Devils’ persuasion, there’s a school of thought that it’s all a ruse on the player’s part.
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United have thus far struggled to kick-start the Erik ten Hag era with the flurry of signings that was expected, as the club’s seismic summer of change currently remains in a stuttering stage. The likes of Barcelona midfielder Frenkie de Jong and Ajax winger Antony have both been heavily linked – alongside various other stars from the Eredivisie champions – and while talks are said to be ongoing, United are yet to capture their first arrival of the summer.
United’s fans appear to be growing frustrated at the club’s lack of transfer activity and they may not be the only ones. Rumblings of Ronaldo’s discontent suggest he too is irked by the club’s broken promises and their false start on the transfer front.
The Portuguese forward has previously expressed his desire to stand by United and help the club return to the glory days of yesteryear, but after last campaign, he will be well aware of just how far adrift the Red Devils currently are and just how many reinforcements are required this summer.
Should United, as a club, act fast and decisively over the coming weeks, any fears Ronaldo could force through an exit can surely be allayed. Ten Hag’s arrival offered up a renewed sense of optimism around Old Trafford and new signings are likely to strengthen that new-found hope.
It appears Ronaldo is sending the club’s board a message and it’s one United’s owners, the Glazers, must heed. The Red Devils have the opportunity to hit the reset button this summer, but a failure to do so by splashing the cash to recruit some stars names could have a catastrophic effect.
At the moment, whispers of Ronaldo’s unrest seem to serve merely as a warning. Should that warning be ignored however, that’s when panic buttons may need to be pressed and the prospect of Ronaldo actually departing risks becoming a reality.
If the Glazers truly are concerned about potentially losing their star man this summer, the answer to alleviating such fears is staring them right in the face: open up the chequebook.
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