Napoli were never seriously interested in signing Cristiano Ronaldo from Manchester United over the summer, according to the Italian club’s sporting director.
The summer transfer window was packed full of speculation around the future of Ronaldo, who was desperate to leave United after they failed to qualify for the Champions League. The 37-year-old wanted to cut short his return to United after a single season in order to further his legacy in Europe’s biggest club competition.
Inevitably there were lots of clubs rumoured to be interested in signing the Portuguese superstar, including Chelsea, Sporting Lisbon, Atletico Madrid, Bayern Munich, Marseille, Corinthians – and Napoli. The Italian side were reported to have contacted Ronaldo’s agent, Jorge Mendes, to discuss a possible transfer.
Rumours of a possible swap deal for Napoli striker Victor Osimhen circulated before being swiftly shot down by the 23-year-old’s agent Roberto Calenda. "No negotiations in progress, no swaps,” Calenda tweeted. “Victor Osimhen is a Napoli player and wants to play the Champions League with his Napoli after winning it on the pitch with pride together with the coach and his teammates."
Napoli’s sporting director Cristiano Giuntoli has now confirmed that Ronaldo was never on the cards. He told Corriere dello Sport : “During the transfer market we pretend to chat with everyone, and sometimes we do it for real. But we wanted to invest in a young team.”
In fact, Giuntoli has been keen to get the word out that Napoli would never have entertained a move for a 37-year-old who is currently paid around £500,000 per week by United. “We never really talked about Ronaldo,” he told Sky Sport Italia earlier this week. “In football you get nowhere with ifs and buts. We are happy with the squad we have, we are confident this is a competitive team.”
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Ronaldo’s desire to leave made headlines, but it soon became clear that the possibility of him actually leaving Old Trafford a year earlier than billed was remote. His wage demands, plus his advancing years and ego, put stumbling blocks in his way.
The possibility of a move back to Madrid, where he lived between 2009 and 2018, was thought to appeal to Ronaldo and his young family, but his links with Real Madrid sparked a backlash among Atletico Madrid fans. Meanwhile, Sporting boss Ruben Amorim moved to cool speculation that Ronaldo was ever a target for the Portuguese giants.
In the end, Ronaldo stayed put and will be a part of the Erik ten Hag era at United – at least until the January transfer window opens. So far, he has failed to find the back of the net in any of his seven appearances, with Marcus Rashford now preferred by Ten Hag as United’s central forward. Ronaldo has completed 90 minutes just twice so far, with cameos off the substitutes' bench a much more common sight.
