Barcelona chief Joan Laporta has hinted that Cristiano Ronaldo might end up at Camp Nou if he eventually decides to leave Manchester United before the start of the next season.
The Portuguese superstar is desperate to end his stay in Manchester and has already informed the club about his plans. One of the reasons behind his desire to leave the club is to play Champions League football.
Manchester United failed to qualify for the tournament after finishing sixth last season. The club’s lack of ambition in the ongoing transfer market is reportedly another reason that has made Ronaldo look for other options.
Recently, reports emerged that Ronaldo is also not happy with the salary slash at the club following the failure to qualify for the Champions League. United defender Harry Maguire later added fuel to the fire by liking a post about it.
Ronaldo is yet to arrive at the Carrington for the pre-season. He was to report for the pre-season on Monday but decided against it citing family reasons.
Joan Laporta on Cristiano Ronaldo:
With Cristiano Ronaldo not willing to spend another season at Old Trafford, Manchester United have little option but to sell him. Premier league rivals Chelsea are also linked with the forward but United are unlikely to sell him to a direct league rival.
And amidst all these, Joan Laporta has revealed that he held talks with Ronaldo’s agent Jorge Mendes. At the presentation of new signing Franck Kessie, Laporta openly admitted his meeting with Mendes.
While Laporta did not reveal the details of the meeting, he made it clear that Ronaldo’s name was discussed as he expressed his delight over the Portuguese star being available in the market.
“I had dinner with Jorge Mendes on Monday and we talked about the market in general,” he said before adding: “Cristiano? I’m not going to talk about players we discussed at the meeting, but it’s always good to know how some names are on the market.”
It would be interesting to see if Ronaldo entertains any approach from Barcelona after spending a decade at Real Madrid. Ronaldo left Spain as Real Madrid’s all-time highest goal-scorer and has also scored 18 goals against Barcelona in 29 league clashes.