After Manchester United failed to qualify for the Champions League 2022-23 season, Cristiano Ronaldo has been looking for a new destination to participate in the most prestigious club tournament in Europe. Reportedly, the Portuguese star had also agreed to take a significant pay cut to join a German club.
Ronaldo's agent Jorge Mendes has been in talks with several clubs across Europe's top leagues since the start of the summer transfer window. Mendes held talks with the Borussia Dortmund bosses for his client's transfer but the club management has reportedly denied the deal.
According to German news outlet BILD, Ronaldo agreed to take a cut in his salary in order to complete the switch to Dortmund. But considering his age and stature in world football, the club management took a unanimous decision of turning down the deal even when the United striker was willing to take a 30% salary cut.
As per The Mirror, the Dortmund CEO Hans-Joachim Watzke said, “I love him as a player, it’s certainly a charming idea. To see Cristiano Ronaldo play at Signal Iduna Park but there is no contact at all between the parties involved. So from now on, you should stop talking about it.”
After losing their opening two matches, Manchester United defeated giants Liverpool 2-1 at the Old Trafford on Tuesday. Ronaldo started on the bench and appeared in front of the home crowd for just nine minutes including five minutes of added time. This has led to the rumours of his exclusion from Erik ten Hag's regular starting XI.
In Premier League 2022-23, Matchday 4, Manchester United will play Southampton at the St. Mary's Stadium on August 27, Saturday.