There was a time when Ed Woodward, the master of bringing big names to Manchester United for the sake of it, would have snapped off the hand of anyone offering him Cristiano Ronaldo.
However, with Ole Gunnar Solskjaer now in charge, a revamped team working rather well on the pitch and a focus on younger players, it appears the club’s CEO changed his tune last summer.
That’s according to La Repubblica journalist Emanuele Gamba, who spoke to Calciomercato.it about Cristiano Ronaldo’s future at Juventus following their rather disappointing Champions League exit at the hands of Porto on Tuesday evening.
He said: “Will he leave? I think the only time there was a chance for that was last summer, and I think his staff moved in that direction. I believe Mendes moved to see if there were any possibilities and did not find them. I doubt that a year later, with an even older and more out of fashion Ronaldo, these possibilities will reappear.
“Essentially, Mendes had urged Paris Saint-Germain and Manchester United, who both said no. Frankly, I don’t see the possibility of anything different happening now, at least in Europe”.
Gamba went onto to explain he also didn’t see the Portugal international moving to America or the Middle East just yet, ‘unless he decides to end his career in these leagues for a couple of years just to score those goals that would allow him to reach 1000’.
However, the belief is that Ronaldo still wants to play in Europe, and with a contract at Juventus until 2022, another season in Serie A now appears to be on the cards.
