There’s no indication that Chelsea are set to make a move for Manchester United forward Cristiano Ronaldo.
Ronaldo plunged his United future into serious doubt after conducting a bombshell interview with Piers Morgan about how his second stint in Manchester has fared.
Whilst clearly frustrated with his underwhelming season where he’s only scored three times in 16 appearances, the 37-year-old went on the offensive about his relationship with Erik ten Hag claiming he has “no respect” for his manager.
Unsurprisingly this has led many to believe he will be out the Old Trafford exit door in January, handing Chelsea the chance to reignite their pursuit of the five-time Ballon d’Or winner.
However, The Guardian’s Jacob Steinberg insisted that Ronaldo doesn’t fit the criteria of player that Graham Potter wants to bring in, he tweeted:
“Currently no indication that Chelsea will go for Cristiano Ronaldo in January. They know he wouldn’t fit Graham Potter’s style of play. Plan is to let Potter build his own team and focus is on bringing in young players.”
Our thoughts on Steinberg’s comments…
It’s no secret that Todd Boehly is a huge admirer of the Portuguese superstar and with the Blues in need of a new striker, it is a move the American would surely love to make knowing the commercial value Ronaldo would bring to Stamford Bridge.
The Daily Mail claimed recently that the new Chelsea owner was keen to sign him during the summer and then in another report, also suggested that he could rekindle their interest come January.
But if Potter is to succeed, he needs to be backed with his own signings and the world’s leading goalscorer just isn’t that same man anymore.
Ronaldo is even failing to outshine Pierre Emerick-Aubameyang, this season with an inferior goals scored per 90 and with a total expected goals of 1.9 compared to the Gabonese’s 0.4, he’s considerably more wasteful than the 33-year-old (via FBref).
The 191-cap Portugal international would also hold back Chelsea in their build-up play with his 1.46 progressive passes per 90 seeing him only in the top 40% in the world, you only need to see United’s success without the Portuguese to show he’s a drawback on high-intensity football, epitomised by the Red Devils’ dominating display in their 2-0 win against Tottenham Hotspur, which Ronaldo didn’t feature in.
His declining output in front of goal alongside his astronomical £480k-per-week wages and an inability to fit the system, leave it in no doubt that the Blues must stay clear if the 47-year-old is to build a successful era in West London.
