Manchester United superstar Cristiano Ronaldo could reportedly make a shock move to Chelsea in January.
The Portuguese international, 37, made no secret of his desire to leave Manchester United in the summer, putting in a transfer request in order to facilitate a move to a Champions League club. Chelsea were among those interested in his signature with co-owner and interim sporting director Todd Boehly keen to bring the forward to Stamford Bridge, but a move didn’t materialise.
According to CBS transfer guru Ben Jacobs, Cristiano Ronaldo’s agent Jorge Mendes will offer the player to Chelsea again but any possible move remains ‘complicated’. The then-Chelsea boss Thomas Tuchel rejected the idea of signing the Man United forward due to his reservations over the player’s ability to fit into his team, but with the German now gone, that ‘roadblock’ has been removed, Jacobs tweeted.
Ronaldo has effectively burned the bridges with Man United after Sunday’s explosive interview with Piers Morgan. In a shocking interview on Piers Morgan Uncensored, the 37-year-old, who will lead Portugal in the upcoming Qatar World Cup, accused manager Erik ten Hag and a few guys around the club of trying to force him out of the club.
Everyone’s had their say about him. Now it’s his turn.
90 Minutes With Cristiano Ronaldo.
8pm, Wednesday and Thursday on TalkTV.@cristiano | @piersmorgan | @TalkTV | #90MinutesWithRonaldo pic.twitter.com/auP1BoizhO
— Piers Morgan Uncensored (@PiersUncensored) November 14, 2022
As a result, he is unlikely to play again for the Red Devils and his agent Jorge Mendes could offer him for a second time to Chelsea when the transfer window reopens.
Cristiano Ronaldo to Chelsea—Should Potter give the green light?
The Blues are in the market for strikers, and have been scouring across Europe to find the best solutions to the problems they are currently facing up front under Graham Potter. A striker is certainly needed, with Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang and Raheem Sterling not delivering goals consistently so far this season.
Chelsea co-owner Todd Boehly was interested in signing Cristiano Ronaldo in the past summer transfer window, and that interest is unlikely to have waned just four months later. If there are a few clubs who could afford to sign Ronaldo on his current wages, Chelsea are certainly among those. However, do the Pensioners need the Portuguese superstar?
First of all, Graham Potter is trying to build a Chelsea team that plays an attacking, exciting and possession-based brand of football. After a positive start to his tenure at Stamford Bridge, Potter has hit a buffer with his side losing three of the last four Premier League games. Nonetheless, it is a process that takes time and will not happen overnight, but over time.
So, it is important for Boehly to back Potter in every way he can to build a strong, dynamic and energetic Chelsea side that can compete with Man City, Liverpool and Arsenal for the Premier League title in the next two/three years.
For a manager who wants to construct a team with young players who will wholeheartedly adhere to the gaffer’s philosophy, Cristiano Ronaldo doesn’t fit the plan at all. Ronaldo will turn 38 in February and his powers are on the wane, as demonstrated by his lacklustre performances at Man United this season. He may be the greatest goal-scorer on the planet but signing the ex-Real Madrid man would slow down Potter’s rebuilding job at Stamford Bridge significantly.
All in all, Ronaldo doesn’t fit Potter’s system, and signing a player who is at the twilight of his career would leave the Blues with big baggage which someone like Graham Potter will not be willing to carry around.
Thus, Chelsea must avoid signing Ronaldo at any cost and other than a completely financial and marketing point of view, this transfer should be nipped in the bud by the sporting side of affairs at Stamford Bridge.
