Manchester United are confident of keeping Cristiano Ronaldo on deadline day.
A lot has been written about Cristiano Ronaldo this summer and his desire to leave Manchester United for a second time in his career.
The media suggested that several clubs turned their nose up at proposals from Jorge Mendes and, in the final weeks of the summer transfer window, he’s been linked with moves to Napoli and Sporting Lisbon.
However, according to transfer guru Fabrizio Romano, United and Erik ten Hag are confident that Ronaldo is staying at Old Trafford.
In the most recent CaughtOffside newsletter, Romano writes: “The situation is calm around Cristiano Ronaldo and he has never really been close to any club, just a lot of speculation but no advanced talks.
“Ten Hag is convinced that he will ultimately remain at Man United, same for the board. I am sure that Cristiano will work at the best level also because in these difficult weeks he has always trained at excellent levels.
“The prospect of Ronaldo going to Napoli and Victor Osimhen was always a non-starter. There were some talks between Jorge Mendes and Napoli, but it was never going to happen because United have already spent big money on Antony, so would not pay the €100m asking price for Osimhen.”
Ronaldo staying at United may get a mixed reaction from fans because of the way he allowed speculation to spread over his future this summer. It just sounds like he didn’t get a serious enough offer to leave rather than him ultimately making a decision to stay.
You could argue that egg has been splattered over Mendes’ face, but I hope Ronaldo doesn’t bring any drama to the dressing room this season. Ten Hag could do without that.
