As clubs try to navigate their way through the murky waters of COVID-19 and the financial effect it will likely have, Serie A’s Juventus have been rumored to be ready to make the ultimate sacrifice and offload Cristiano Ronaldo. According to Spanish journalist Guillem Balague, the Italian Champions are looking to offload his astronomical wages in a bid to provide money for new manager Andrea Pirlo who replaced Maurizio Sarri after their Champions League exit to Lyon last week. Balague told 5 Live Sport in England:
“He’s been offered everywhere, including Barcelona. I’m not sure if they can get rid of him easily with the kind of money he earns. Who is going to pay that kind of money?”
Instead of focusing on the ‘everywhere’ in that first sentence, most tabloids, in the need for sensationalism, have honed in on the ‘including Barcelona’ part and blown everything way out out of proportion. That’s not to say the thought of the two greatest players in the world playing together doesn’t intrigue me but right now Barcelona is probably in a worse financial state than Juventus. Remember they are currently trying to offload midfielder Arthur for their own financial reasons so the probability of them being able to afford Ronaldo’s wages seems unlikely.
With a player of Ronaldo’s caliber, I’m sure Juventus will have offers for the Portuguese Phenomenon, with PSG looking like a possible destination. They have the money and partnering him with Neymar and Mbappe would be a strike-force unrivaled anywhere in the world. But it seems as if the interest is very one-sided with Ronaldo wanting to go there and PSG not really bothered either way.
Another possible destination could be Old Trafford and a return to the club in which he made his name, Manchester United. He always speaks affectionately about the club despite throwing a tantrum to get his move to Real Madrid in 2009 and it looks as if United could be priced out of a move for their number one summer target Jadon Sancho by Borussia Dortmund. If Juventus are serious about offloading him to save on wages then it’s possible a cut-price deal could be worked out with his former club to return and mentor a young strike-force of Mason Greenwood, Marcus Rashford and Anthony Martial who are all 24 or younger and could use an experienced head to lean on.
The other possibility is MLS but with his recent troubles here I don’t think what he did or did not say to Nani years ago still holds clout and I would be more surprised by this than a move to the Nou Camp to link up with Lionel Messi. Ronaldo and Messi in the same team? It’s a nice dream but it’s time to wake back up to reality.
