Towards the back end of the transfer window, when it became clear that no big clubs would be taking Cristiano Ronaldo away from Manchester United, a new story appeared.
With the Red Devils needing a new forward, rumours emerged that Jorge Mendes was trying to put together some kind of swap deal involving the Portuguese and Victor Osimhen.
It made some sense, as the Nigeria international had been linked with a move to Manchester United in the past, but the idea of swapping their star man for a 37-year-old who hadn’t played a pre-season and was showing signs of decline never seemingly appealed to Napoli.
Since then, Erik ten Hag has decided to make do without the Portugal international for Premier League games following two disastrous early results, while Napoli beat Liverpool 4-1 in the Champions League on Tuesday.
This result, according to Alfredo Pedullà and relayed by Area Napoli, was ‘the best response to those who warned us that it would be a simple suggestion’.
The magnitude of the potential transfer and the sums that would be involved certainly turned heads, and the journalist explains it was ‘too big a thing, too serious and too delicate to leave it to the mercy of people without a logical, plausible reason’.
With no transfer window left and Ronaldo stuck at Manchester United, Mendes now has to think of a solution for his star, but it won’t involve Napoli.
They ‘have given the answer they had to, on the pitch, with a performance that will remain unforgettable for the way in which they ran over Liverpool’.
In essence, Pedullà believes it was their way of saying: “We don’t need Ronaldo.”
