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Ever since it was reported the Portuguese forward Cristiano Ronaldo wants a move away from Manchester United, the 37-year-old has been linked to many clubs around the globe. While many media outlets reported that Ronaldo may move back to Real Madrid, some claimed that a move to Bayern Munich is also a possibility. The latest reports claimed that Atletico Madrid are also keen on signing the Portuguese forward.
However, all these reports were denied one after the other. At first, Bayern Munich ruled out the possibility of Ronaldo's transfer to the German club, and now Atletico Madrid President Enrique Cerezo has bluntly denied any such claims. Enrique criticized the media houses for coming up with such false claims and said that Ronaldo’s move to the club was practically impossible.
"I don't know who invented the story of [ Ronaldo], but it's practically impossible for him to come to Atlético de Madrid," Cerezo said bluntly during an interaction with Spanish media outlet El Partidazo de COPE. It’s worth mentioning that Atletico Madrid are rivals to Real Madrid where Ronaldo spent 8 glorious seasons.
Ronaldo in talks with United
While different reports are claiming the Portuguese moving to different clubs, Ronaldo didn't take part in United's pre-season tour to Thailand and Australia but reached Manchester earlier this week to begin talks with the club over his future. However, there has been no update from United about Ronaldo's current status at the club following his arrival with his agent, Jorge Mendes, at the Carrington training base.
Sir Alex Ferguson, the former United manager who played a big role in the player's first spell at the club from 2003-09, arrived at Carrington earlier Tuesday. Ferguson also played an influential role in persuading Ronaldo to return to United last year.
Notably, Ronaldo is reportedly willing to play in the top European competition, the Champions League. But it won’t be possible if he stays with the Red Devils as United failed to qualify for the 2022-23 season having finished sixth in the 2021-22 Premier League season.