Cristiano Ronaldo was desperate to quit Manchester United this summer, but he failed to find a new suitor. Rumours of him wanting to find a new club in January transfer market are rife, and this time there are one or two potential suitors interested him. While the heavyweights in Chelsea, Bayern Munich, Atletico Madrid and Napoli were linked with him, minnows like Sporting Lisbon and Marseille too had their shot.
Now, Italian side Udinese have invited Ronaldo to join their ranks in a light-hearted exchange on social media. The 37-year-old forward is currently in Portugal for international duties as his country faces Czech Republic and Spain in their Nations League double header. Amidst a busy schedule, the mercurial striker received an open offer from Udinese to join them.
Cristiano Ronaldo dismissed retirement talks as Udinese urge
Cristiano Ronaldo has endured a tough period at Old Trafford ever since he failed to leave the club in the summer transfer market. He has been handed only 3 starts in 8 games so far by United manager Erik ten Hag, 2 of which have come in the Europa League. The European competition was one of the major reasons the forward wanted to get rid of his Red Devil status as he wanted to continue in the elite Champions League.
However, he had to stay at the club and has featured in the Europa League for the first time in his career. He even opened his scoring account for the season in the competition, netting a penalty against Sheriff Tiraspol. But that has been his only goal so far in 8 games, as the former Real Madrid man has struggled to get going. As he prepares with Portugal now, Ronaldo at the Quinas de Ouro award ceremony stated that he wishes to play for his country as long as possible, with his eyes set on EURO 2024. He said:
“It has been a long road, but I would like to take the opportunity to say that my road is not over yet. I feel motivated, my ambition is high. I am in the Selection [Portugal National Team] with a lot of young players and I want to be part of this World Cup and the 2024 European as well, I assume now.”
While sports media company DAZN covered the Portugal captain’s comments on their social media, Udinese shot-stopper Marco Silvestri took the opportunity to invite the five-time Ballon d’Or to join his team, commenting “Come to Udinese,” on the post. Udinese too quickly snapped back with an “eye” emoji.
Ronaldo already has an experience of rocking the Serie A, as he spent three years at Juventus. He netted a whopping 81 goals in just 98 Serie A games for the Old Lady, helping them to two back-to-back Scudettos. Udinese too are enjoying their league campaign this season, as they sit third in the table, just a point behind leaders Napoli. While Cristiano Ronaldo has huge ambitions, it sems Udinese too share the same thought as aspire to sign him.
However, the United star wants Champions League football which at the moment won’t be available at Udinese. His agent Jorge Mendes is reportedly holding talks with a host of ‘Champions League clubs’ as he is determined to find a new suitor for his client post the World Cup. For now, the 37-year-old has reiterated that his committed to help Man United and Ten Hag and display an absolute professional behaviour in training as well as during the games.