Imagine being one of, if not, the best football players of all time and telling everyone that you are available - but no one wants you.
That is the unfamiliar territory that Cristiano Ronaldo finds himself in this summer after making to clear to Manchester United that he wants to leave this year. After finish sixth in the Premier League, the Red Devils will be plying their trade in the Europa League next season.
That is of no interest to Ronaldo, who believes he has around four years left at the top of his game and wants to spend what little time he has competing for the Champions League. That does not appear possible at Old Trafford but the 37-year-old has struggled to convince those in the competition to take a punt on him.
This is a player that guarantees goals and success - so why is no one willing to take the risk on the five-time Ballon d'Or winner?
Bayern Munich
One of the favourites to snap up Ronaldo this summer were Bayern Munich - because a transfer just makes sense. Robert Lewandowski departing for Barcelona has left a huge hole up front for Julian Nagelsman.
The Bundesliga champions make mincemeat of their league opposition but it is the Champions League that they covet. And they could surely do their chances no harm by signing the player who has scored more times in that competition than anyone else ever.
But Nagelsmann is not interested, saying in July: "As highly as I rate Cristiano Ronaldo as one of the greatest, a transfer wouldn't be a fit with our philosophy. I love Cristiano Ronaldo and everyone knows how fantastic he is. But every club has a certain philosophy and I’m not sure if it would be the right thing for Bayern and the Bundesliga if we signed him now."
Atletico Madrid
A return to Spain might have been Ronaldo's best option this summer and a move to Madrid might have been the romantic option considering his success at the Bernabeu. However, rocking up on the other side of town with Atletico would be a huge shock to the football world.
But while this transfer would have been draped in controversy, it appears that this move has little traction despite Mendes telling Atletico CEO Gil Marin that his client would take a huge pay cut.
According to COPE, the meeting ended with the Madrid chief telling Mendes that they cannot afford any sort of move for Ronaldo. The club are in financial trouble as they currently exceed financial fair play targets by around €45million and are desperately trying to lower their ballooning wage bill.
Chelsea
Sticking around in the Premier League at a club that have recently won the Champions League would appeal to Ronaldo while his United links prevent him from signing for Manchester City or Liverpool. That leaves Chelsea as the only realistic option while new owner Todd Boehly has met with Mendes.
One of the topics of conversation was Ronaldo's availability but it appears that the US billionaire has resisted the urge to splash out on the Portuguese superstar. Instead, he has backed his manager Thomas Tuchel, who has other areas of the squad he wants to address first.
"I would not rule out signing another striker, but it’s not our priority,’ said the Chelsea boss. "The priority right now is our defence, it’s not a secret. We lost top players and so now we need to replace them."
Real Madrid
Why not Real Madrid after all? Where Ronaldo achieved immortality, it would make sense to return once again and win another Champions League with them surely? A romantic recoupling with Real would appear to make sense on paper - with the forward the elder statesman to aid through the next generation of stars such as Vinicius Jr and Rodrygo Goes.
However, Los Blancos have no interest in re-signing their former frontman as they are looking to trim their wage bill instead by cutting down on the deadwood, according to Marca. Carlo Ancelotti has already landed his top two targets in Aurelien Tchouameni and Antonio Rudiger and it appears the shop has been closed.
Paris Saint-Germain
When it comes to superstar forwards egging on their agents to find them new clubs, PSG are usually one of the first on the list. The thought of Lionel Messi and Ronaldo on the same side is something only those on FIFA can dream about but, in this reality, it appears it is impossible.
Despite the French giants almost certainly salivating over the commercial explosion that would occur partnering up the two, they have ruled themselves out of the race. According to Le Parisien, PSG are not interested as they look to take a different approach in the transfer window - targeting lower profiles such as Seko Fofana and Nordi Mukiele after hiring Christophe Galtier as manager and Luis Campos as sporting director.
