Cristiano Ronaldo to Newcastle United talk rubbished…

Cristiano Ronaldo to Newcastle United talk rubbished as Manchester United man seeks exit

Newcastle United have not been offered the chance to sign Manchester United wantaway Cristiano Ronaldo, despite reports suggesting otherwise on Tuesday morning. Chronicle Live understands talk in the national media of the Magpies being given the opportunity to sign the 37-year-old in January are wide of the mark.

Arsenal, Chelsea and Eddie Howe 's side have been touted as a potential destination for Ronaldo as he seeks an urgent Old Trafford exit. However, one source close to the Red Devils says the Portuguese forward is only interested in leaving Manchester United for a club playing in the Champions League, something his representatives and super agent Jorge Mendes are well aware of.

Ronaldo's next destination looks likely to be Napoli, who currently top their group in Europe's premier competition and sit three points clear of their nearest rivals in Serie A. The attacker featured against Newcastle earlier this month but has since fallen further out of favour with boss Erik Ten Hag.

It is the type of rumour Newcastle supporters will need to become accustomed to in the years to come. With breaking into the Premier League's top six comes the pitfalls of being linked with a plethora of big names.

Both Paul Pogba and Neymar were touted with a move to Newcastle in the summer by foreign news outlets. Ludicrous rumours that crop up purely because of the fact the Magpies now have money at their disposal.

Eddie Howe has done a tremendous job of building a unified Newcastle squad, with no big egos or mega-earners taking centre stage in the dressing room. Transfer targets were rejected or struck off the list over the summer if they didn't have the right character to fit in with the first-team group at St James' Park.

Howe was asked specifically about signing Ronaldo earlier this month, where he played down signing a player of that age. "We’re trying to provide long-term growth, we’ve got a longer-term vision," he told reporters.

“At the moment, we have quite an ageing squad, so we probably need to invest in more young players. That’s probably a big part of our progression, really. We need to get the average age down, so it might not be a signing that we would necessarily look to make – but not under-estimating the quality of the player.”

Cristiano Ronaldo to Newcastle United talk rubbished as Manchester United man seeks exit

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