Manchester United’s hopes of securing what would be a blockbuster deal for Juventus star Cristiano Ronaldo have received a massive boost. As per Gazzetta dello Sport (via The Sun), the Bianconeri are considering the prospect of cutting ties with the Portugal captain in the summer to trim a massive wage bill.
Juventus brought Ronaldo from Real Madrid in 2018 for a fee of €100million as part of the club’s efforts to conquer the Champions League. However, despite the forward’s impressive scoring records over the past three years in Turin, the move has failed to produce the desired effect.
The Bianconeri have not only faltered in each Champions League campaign with Ronaldo, but they also surrendered the Serie A title to Inter in 2020/21. Though the 36-year-old enjoyed another memorable individual season, Andrea Pirlo’s men slumped to fourth in Serie A and exited Europe in the first knock-out round.
Juventus are now entertaining the idea of parting ways with Ronaldo for a mere £25m, which is a substantial markdown on the price they paid to take him away from La Liga three years ago. But it’s believed that the Turin-based giants could save up to £75m by severing ties with the five-time Ballon d’Or winner.
Adding to this sentiment, the newly-appointed manager Massimiliano Allegri is not a big fan of Ronaldo. The Italian is reportedly forcing the club to offload the star forward and focus on finding someone ‘less concerned’ about the individual achievements.
Meanwhile, Manchester United are enthusiastic about having Cristiano back at Old Trafford despite completing a long-awaited move for Jadon Sancho recently. After finishing runners-up to cross-town rivals Manchester City in the 2020/21 Premier League season, the Red Devils are keen to assemble a squad to pile more pressure on the title next term.
With Anthony Martial’s future in Manchester hanging in the balance, Ole Gunnar Solskjaer sees Ronaldo as a perfect short-term solution to help United win their first league title in the post-Sir Alex Ferguson era.