Manchester United forward Cristiano Ronaldo has suggested on Piers Morgan Uncensored: 90 Minutes with Ronaldo that he was not offered to Mikel Arteta’s Arsenal or Chelsea last summer.
Ronaldo has slammed the media for stories that he was offered to Arsenal and Chelsea, saying that he wanted to stay at Manchester United.
There was speculation that the £360,000-a-week (The Sun) Portuguese superstar was offered to Chelsea in the summer of 2022, but then Blues manager Thomas Tuchel decided to turn it down.
Cristiano Ronaldo on rumoured Arsenal and Chelsea offers
Ronaldo said, as transcribed by SportsMole, when asked if reports of a two-year contract offer from a Saudi-based club worth €350m (£305m) were true: “It’s true, yes, it’s true. In that moment [I turned it down], yes.
“They [the press] say many, many garbage things. Jorge Mendes (Ronaldo’s agent) has more than 100 players and they go to Chelsea and Arsenal, but they always mention Cristiano Ronaldo, ‘they offer Cristiano'”.
The former Real Madrid forward added: “Let’s be honest, who is the most expensive salary player in the Premier League ever in history – it’s me, even at 37 years old. They [the media] even offered me to Sporting [Lisbon] or Napoli. I will be honest with you,
“I didn’t have many, many clubs but I have many, many offers of the other clubs. But what the press keep saying, the garbage, is that nobody wants me, which is completely wrong.
“And I was happy here [at United] to be honest, I was motivated to do a great season here [at United]. But they continue to repeat that nobody wants Cristiano.
“How they don’t want a player who last year scored 32 goals last year, [including] with the national team?”
Could a transfer happen now?
In our view, Arsenal or Chelsea are unlikely to sign Cristiano Ronaldo from Manchester United in the January transfer window.
We do not think that the Portugal international forward will play for United again, and it is very likely that he will have to find a new club in the January transfer window.
Chelsea have been linked again with the 37-year-old, but it is hard to see the former Premier League and UEFA Champions League winners bring him in after his explosive interview with Piers Morgan.
Arsenal are unlikely to be able to or willing to pay Ronaldo’s huge wages.
It will be interesting to see which club Ronaldo goes to after the 2022 World Cup finals in Qatar.
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