With 18 league goals last season, Cristiano Ronaldo scored more goals than Kai Havertz and Romelu Lukaku combined. He finished as Manchester United's top scorer with 31% of his team's goals.
The Portuguese star has carried the burden of goals and seems too much, though, and he is now looking for a way out of Old Trafford, just one season after a fairy tale return to England. Even with Erik Ten Hag in charge, the five-time Ballon d'Or winner has lost patience and wants to spend his twilight years competing for the biggest trophies at an ambitious club.
Enter Chelsea and eager owner Todd Boehly, looking to make a statement signing for his new club. The American, acting as interim sporting director at Stamford Bridge, has been on a worldwide tour, pitching the London club to a host of interested parties, hoping to scout out possible recruits for Thomas Tuchel.
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Along the way, football.london understands that Boehly has held initial conversations with Ronaldo's agent, Jorge Mendes, about a possible move for the forward. However, no move would be sanctioned without Tuchel's countenance.
Jason Cundy said on TalkSport "The attraction of Ronaldo, I kind of get it, he clearly sees United as a rebuild job, and he can't hang around for that. That's not in his makeup right now. He wants to be having the best chance of winning the biggest trophies right now. He's got two to three years at maximum left, maybe."
"He's a brilliant athlete, we know that, to play at the level he has."
"No, I wouldn't have him at Chelsea. Here's the difference, Ronaldo is an upgrade on Lukaku, but Chelsea is different to United. It's not a rebuild because there is a nucleus to a very good squad. Our issues, there are things at the back that need sorting out, we need at least two centre-halves, and we need another striker."
"The problem with Ronaldo is he's going to be the same problem that he was at United. He'll be a short-term fix, a brilliant fix, but the problem you have to sort out and the problem that Chelsea have got is that they invested £97m in a player that we felt was going to be there for the next three to four years, that was what Lukaku was, it's been a disaster, obviously because he's left."
"With Ronaldo, you're going to have to play a way that suits Ronaldo, and at times last season, Ole struggled. The players around him have got to do Ronaldo's job as well. He can't close down."
"He wouldn't work at Liverpool, not a prayer. Firmino, to feet, is a better player with his back to goal than Ronaldo is. The way that United suffered last season with Ronaldo."
"For me, Ronaldo doesn't in front of Havertz. Havertz gives you something else up front. There's no way Ronaldo does what Havertz does off the ball."
"We're further down the line that United and Ronaldo don't get in our best XI. As a squad player that can add something different, he's brilliant in the air, but there's no way he makes the same runs as Havertz."
"Last season he shamed Lukaku because of the runs he made, his first touch, his holdup play. He's actually strong on the ball, he shamed Lukaku last season."
"The Ronaldo that you still have this glazed, puppy look on your eyes with, that's the Ronaldo of years ago. He solves one problem but creates another. Havertz is a better centre-forward right now, 100%, and I will not be swayed on that."
Do you agree with Cundy that Chelsea should look to Havertz than signing Ronaldo or do both fit in to Chelsea system next season?
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