Ronaldo’s options to leave Manchester United are fading away

Portugal forward Cristiano Ronaldo is facing the rare prospect of going without Champions League football.

The 37-year-old will hold discussions with Manchester United over his future this week, as reported by The Athletic on Monday. He missed United’s pre-season tour to Thailand and Australia, citing family reasons, having told the club he wanted to leave.

The last time Ronaldo did not compete in the Champions League was during the 2002-03 season when he played for Sporting Lisbon in the qualifying rounds of the UEFA Cup.

Since then, he has played in Europe’s premier competition for 19 consecutive seasons, appearing for United, Real Madrid and Juventus, and winning the trophy five times. However, United failed to qualify for the 2022-23 season and will instead play in the Europa League, one of the reasons cited by Ronaldo for telling them he wants to leave.

A return of at least 18 league goals in each of the past 16 seasons suggests he should be in high demand. But any move would not come cheap. United made a commitment of around £60million ($72.3m) to sign Ronaldo in 2021 on a two-year deal when you factor in his transfer fee and wages, which are in the region of £450,000 a week.

As well as bringing goals, Ronaldo is also one of the biggest marketing draws in sport. He owns the most-followed account on Instagram, with 469 million followers, and has more than 720 million followers in total across Instagram, Twitter and Facebook.

The benefits of signing one of football’s most iconic figures are obvious. Yet, despite his impact on and off the field, and despite some interest, no club set to play in the Champions League this season appears close to signing him. United have also insisted the forward is not for sale.

Here, The Athletic runs through how and why clubs have dropped out of the race to sign Ronaldo.

Chelsea

Chelsea’s new co-owner Todd Boehly met with Ronaldo’s agent, Jorge Mendes, in June and the forward’s future was discussed.

The Athletic later reported Chelsea have no interest in making a move for him, even after allowing last year’s big-money signing, Romelu Lukaku, to leave the club on loan and re-join Inter Milan.

Thomas Tuchel has also stressed that signing a new centre-forward this summer is not a priority. Raheem Sterling was signed in a deal worth £47.5million and he is expected to play an integral role in Chelsea’s new-look attack, while Kai Havertz looks set to continue his transition into becoming the club’s first-choice No 9.

Atletico Madrid

Before Ronaldo re-joined United last year, Manchester City were close to signing him. One of the factors that persuaded Ronaldo to return to Old Trafford instead was a conversation with Rio Ferdinand about how a move to City could tarnish his legacy at United.

Since then, Atletico Madrid have been reported as having an interest in Ronaldo, but given his concern about tarnishing his legacy at United, it would be reasonable to assume he might have similar thoughts about doing the same to his legacy at Real Madrid.

As for Atletico, to sign a new player, let alone one who would command wages the size of Ronaldo’s, the club needs to raise €40million in player sales. Diego Simeone has been unable to sell Alvaro Morata and Saul, who contribute around €20million to the club’s wage bill, making any move for Ronaldo very difficult.

Bayern Munich

When Ronaldo told United’s hierarchy he wanted to leave if a suitable bid was made for him, Bayern Munich were one of the clubs who were informed of his situation.

However, Oliver Kahn, Bayern’s chief executive officer, has played down talk of signing Ronaldo. In July, Kahn said: “As highly as I rate Cristiano Ronaldo as one of the greatest, a transfer wouldn’t be a fit with our philosophy. I’m not sure if it would be the right thing for Bayern and the Bundesliga if we signed him now.”

Julian Nagelsmann has also played down any possible move to Bayern: “I saw all rumours of my interest in signing Cristiano Ronaldo, but that’s not true.”

Napoli

Napoli, who finished third in Serie A last season, were also credited with an interest in Ronaldo, and there are a few signs that suggest they have a clear need for a new source of goals.

Luciano Spalletti has said it will be “extremely difficult” for Napoli to finish in the top four again this season. The club need to replace two forwards, Lorenzo Insigne and Dries Mertens, who each scored 11 league goals last season but left this summer.

However, no official bid has been registered.

Saudi Arabia

According to Forbes, Ronaldo is the third highest-paid athlete in the world, with the forward set to earn around $115million (£96.3m) this calendar year. Money does not appear to be Ronaldo’s primary motivation at this stage of his career, but a club in Saudi Arabia have made an offer that would give him an opportunity to earn £233million over two years.

The forward has cited a desire to play Champions League football but has also been presented with an opportunity to earn around £2.24million per week  – just under a quarter of a billion pounds.

Other contenders

Outside of the teams above, the number of potential suitors for Ronaldo remains slim. Paris Saint-Germain are said to have no interest in making a move, which leaves a small handful of teams who could even afford him.

Manchester City and Liverpool will play in the Champions League next season, but after signing Erling Haaland and Darwin Nunez respectively, it appears unlikely either would make a move.

When Harry Kane signed a new contract at Tottenham in 2018, it was worth around £200,000 a week, making him the club’s highest earner. Antonio Conte’s side have not expressed an interest in signing Ronaldo, but even if they did, Tottenham would have to make an exception to their wage structure or Ronaldo would likely have to take a sizeable pay cut.

Italian clubs are spending less than previously, which suggests Ronaldo returning to Juventus, a club where he previously earned €31million a year, does not seem likely. AC Milan have also taken a frugal approach when it comes to compensating star players after allowing Gianluigi Donnarumma, Hakan Calhanoglu and Franck Kessie to leave on free transfers instead of paying them big wages.

Inter Milan have re-signed Romelu Lukaku on loan. The cost of acquiring him for a year is around €25million once his loan fee and wages are accounted for, so it would seem they would not make a move for Ronaldo.

Barcelona have brought in Robert Lewandowski. Real Madrid, who just won another Champions League trophy without Ronaldo, have not shown a desire to re-sign him.

That leaves Ajax and RB Leipzig as the two remaining teams set to take part in the Champions League who may be able to offer Ronaldo what he wants.

There is still plenty of time left in the transfer window, but as things stand, it looks like Ronaldo could stay at United and play Europa League football for the first time in nearly 20 years.