Whether Chelsea make a U-turn on Cristiano Ronaldo remains to be seen.
The latest hints were that the 37-year-old would give Erik ten Hag a chance as evidenced by his return to the pre-season regime after rumours emerged that his exile for 'family reasons' could draw on longer than expected. However, the striker's early exit after being subbed at half-time during the friendly against Rayo Vallecano led to Ten Hag branding the action "unacceptable", and Ronaldo is not expected to start at the weekend against Brighton.
With things still clearly simmering between the Man Utd icon and the club where he first made his name back on the world stage, an exit could still prove possible before the September 1 deadline if a team was to make a significant move. Up to date, the likes of Atletico Madrid, Bayern Munich and Chelsea have been credited with an interest but this came from Jorge Mendes offering up his client in different ways to the two.
READ MORE: Cristiano Ronaldo to Chelsea latest: Man United response, huge transfer hint, £14m bid
Atletico Madrid cannot currently afford the deal, while the Bavarians didn't believe he fit the profile of what Julian Nagelsmann was looking to build following the departure of Robert Lewandowski.
For Chelsea, while Todd Boehly was interested in the marquee signing as evidenced by his meeting with Mendes in the Algarve during his early days of becoming interim sporting director, manager Thomas Tuchel himself blocked this deal from coming to fruition, football.london understands.
Whether Tuchel re-evaluates this stance as we approach the September deadline remains to be seen but the fresh links to Barcelona duo Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang and Memphis Depay suggest this isn't likely to be the case.
But if he was to eventually give the 'green light' to a move from the five-time Ballon d'Or winner, he now faces unexpected competition from a club in South America that has inflicted pain on the Blues before in the FIFA Club World Cup. Brazilian side Corinthians have now shown their hand in this transfer pursuit with president Duilio Monteiro Alves admitting it's 'true' that he personally wants to sign Ronaldo this summer.
Alves said via The Mirror: "It's true, I dream big. This is Corinthians! Aren't Willian and Renato Augusto here? In football everything is possible and I have the obligation to give my best for Corinthians.
"Is it possible? I don't know. We didn't try, we didn't investigate, there was no such possibility, but we are keeping an eye on him. Imagine that he suddenly wants to play in Brazil..."
Chelsea fans- pick one: Cristiano Ronaldo or Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang and why? Leave your thoughts in the comments section below!
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