Jorge Mendes, Cristiano Ronaldo’s agent, spoke to Paris Saint-Germain’s hierarchy about his client’s wish to play at Parc des Princes, but got turned down.
According to French paper Le Parisien, PSG’s bosses don’t currently have a place for Ronaldo in the starting lineup.
Instead, Paris wants to build the team around Kylian Mbappe, who’s fresh from signing a contract extension at the club. The 23-year-old is likely to have Messi and Neymar alongside him in the PSG attack for next season. As of now, there’s no room available for Ronaldo in PSG’s starting lineup, the club believes.
Apart from sporting reasons, PSG is reluctant to enter the chase for Ronaldo’s signature because of his high wages. The French giants are already under scrutiny after being accused of breaking the UEFA financial fair play rules and don’t want more attention going to the club’s financial dealings. PSG chairman Nasser Al-Khelaifi said publicly that the team will focus on building a winning spirit more than exploring its glam side. Ronaldo is not seen as fitting the new philosophy.
Ten Hag: ‘Ronaldo is not for sale’
Ronaldo is still eager to find a new club after informing United he sees his future elsewhere. The five-time Ballon d’Or winner has yet to report for training and is likely to miss the entire summer tour of Thailand and Australia under new manager Erik ten Hag.
The Dutchman wants Ronaldo to stay and assures he’s planning the season with the 37-year-old as part the team. Ten Hag also said this week that “Ronaldo is not for sale.”
“He’s not with us and it’s due to personal issues,” Ten Hag insisted. “We are planning for Cristiano Ronaldo to play during the season. I’m looking forward to working with him. I have read that he wants to leave, but what I say is Cristiano is not for sale. He is in our plans and we want success together.”
Ten Hag revealed he spoke to Ronaldo before talk of a transfer came up. “I had a conversation with him and we had a good talk. What we spoke about stays between Cristiano and me, but what I can confirm is, we had a really good conversation together,” ten Hag said.
Tyrell Malacia is the only player who signed for United so far this summer. After doing business with Feyenoord for the fullback, Man. Utd. is trying to buy another important player from the Dutch League. Ten Hag’s former player from Ajax Amsterdam, Lisandro Martinez, is closing in on a move to Old Trafford.
Despite being heavily linked with Chelsea over the past week, Ronaldo is now at +275 to join the West London club. After ten Hag’s show of support, United stands at -150 to keep him beyond the current transfer window. A transfer to Bayern is at +400, while a move to PSG stands far away, at +1200. Jose Mourinho would be eager to reunite with his fellow countryman, but Roma only sits at +1800 to convince Ronaldo. Sporting Lisbon, Ronaldo’s boyhood club, is at +1400.
