This is an updated version of an article first published on July 26.
Cristiano Ronaldo is facing up to the reality of being an ex-Manchester United player, having mutually agreed his departure from Old Trafford today.
The Portugal international, currently on duty with his country at the World Cup, has ended his second spell at United after he conducted an explosive interview with TV personality Piers Morgan, in which he criticised the Glazer family, manager Erik ten Hag and aspects of how the club is being run.
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As United prepare to move on without Ronaldo, the player must now confront his own future — which seems, on the face of it, far less certain given there seems no chance of another Premier League club moving for him, or one of his former clubs Juventus and Real Madrid making an offer.
Ronaldo remains one of the biggest marketing draws in sport. He owns the most-followed account on Instagram, with 501million followers, and has more than 720million followers in total across Instagram, Twitter and Facebook.
The commercial benefits of signing one of sport’s most iconic figures are obvious, but who could be realistic contenders to do a deal?
Saudi Arabia
In his interview with Morgan, Ronaldo confirmed that suggestions he had been offered £305million over two years to play in Saudi Arabia were true.
When asked how difficult it was turning down the offer, he said: “It’s hard. It’s hard. But in the same way, I thought that I was very happy here (at United); that I am still capable to score goals and make people happy.”
Could the Saudis be tempted to try again?
According to Forbes,Ronaldo is the third highest-paid athlete in the world, and the forward had been 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 the Saudis would not have any issue with affording his salary.
With Newcastle thriving in the Premier League and the national team on the rise after their remarkable win over Argentina at the World Cup, they may just feel that this is the moment to make another major statement of intent.
In the end, it could come down to whether Ronaldo is ready to drop into a relatively obscure league, given how important he says Champions League football is to him.
Sporting Lisbon
The club where it all began for Ronaldo back when he was a teenager, so there is a certain charm in the notion of him returning for one last dance.
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That is certainly the way the Ronaldo camp could spin it if a move did materialise and Sporting are a serious footballing proposition under Ruben Amorim. It would also be a good test of whether the suggestions that money is no motivator for Ronaldo really hold true, given Sporting would not be able to afford anywhere close to his wage at United.
A more pressing problem could be Sporting’s chances of qualifying for next season’s Champions League, which are a long way short of guaranteed.
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 had 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.
The scepticism was led by Chelsea’s then manager Thomas Tuchel, but even now that the German has departed Stamford Bridge, there is not believed to be any appetite to move again for Ronaldo.
Napoli
Napoli were also credited with an interest in Ronaldo, but that was at a time when the club looked in need of an injection of fresh impetus.
They finished seven points behind Serie A champions AC Milan and coach Luciano Spalletti said it would be “extremely difficult” for Napoli to finish in the top four again this season.
Since then, however, Napoli have romped to the top of Serie A this season and stormed into the last-16 of the Champions League after impressive results against Liverpool, Ajax and Rangers.
Naples, Diego Maradona’s former home, is a city that is no stranger to maverick individual talents but it would require a huge economic outlay to secure Ronaldo’s services, and also risk upsetting Spalletti’s sporting project.
Napoli are flying in Serie A and in Europe (Photo: Cesare Purini/Mondadori Portfolio via Getty Images)
Atletico Madrid
Before Ronaldo re-joined United last year, Manchester City were another possible option for signing him. One of the factors that persuaded Ronaldo to opt for Old Trafford was a conversation with Rio Ferdinand about how a move to City could tarnish his legacy at United.
In the summer, Atletico Madrid were 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.
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As for Atletico, signing a player who would command wages the size of Ronaldo’s would be almost impossible.
Bayern Munich
When Ronaldo told United’s hierarchy he wanted to leave in the summer 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, played down talk that they were ever interested. 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 also played down any possible move to Bayern: “I saw all rumours of my interest in signing Cristiano Ronaldo, but that’s not true.”
It is hard to see how that stance can have shifted since those comments were made.
Inter Miami
Major League Soccer would represent a reasonable fit in many ways for Ronaldo, whose career aspirations beyond football could be more easily satisfied in America than in Europe.
Inter Miami are the franchise most frequently linked with a possible move for him and, if they were to secure Ronaldo’s services, it would be a remarkable coup for a league which has also set its sights on luring Lionel Messi when his time runs out at Paris Saint-Germain. But, again, the compromise would have to be Ronaldo accepting that his days of impressing on the Champions League stage would be over.
For a man who insisted in his interview with Morgan that he could still operate at the top level until he was 40, that may be something he is unwilling to accept.
Could David Beckham’s relationship with Ronaldo prompt a move to Inter Miami? (Photo: Angel Martinez/Real Madrid via Getty Images)
Retirement
If all other routes are closed off, what price Ronaldo simply deciding enough is enough and ending his playing career?
It would jar with what he told Morgan, but the prospect of playing in a lower-standard league, appeasing only his accountants, may be too grim to contemplate for a man who has spent virtually his whole career at some of the most famous clubs in world football.
He certainly has nothing left to prove and would be going out leaving his millions of fans still wanting more, which would probably appeal to his ego.
(Top photo: Getty Images)
