Chelsea are favourites to sign Cristiano Ronaldo after his interview with Piers Morgan
Chelsea are favourites to sign Cristiano Ronaldo following the Manchester United star’s explosive interview with Piers Morgan.
Ronaldo is unlikely to play for Man Utd again following the 90-minute interview, which will be televised this week.
The 37-year-old feels “betrayed” by United and believes he’s being forced out the club.
Ronaldo aimed fire at manager Erik ten Hag, commenting during his interview with Morgan: “I don’t have respect for him because he doesn’t show respect for me.
“If you don’t have respect for me, I’m never gonna have respect for you.”
He also criticised the club’s decision to appoint Ralf Rangnick as interim manager after sacking Ole Gunnar Solskjaer 12 months ago, adding: “If you’re not even a coach, how are you going to be the boss of Manchester United? I’d never even heard of him.”
Ten Hag and Ronaldo’s teammates are understood to be ‘extremely disappointed’ by the manner and timing of the controversial interview.
They only found out about the interview while they were flying back from London after beating Fulham 2-1 at Craven Cottage.
Which club will Cristiano Ronaldo sign for next?
Per the Evening Standard, Chelsea are currently the favourites to sign Ronaldo, who was linked with a move to Stamford Bridge in October.
It was reported that Chelsea owner Todd Boehly was open to the idea of signing the five-time Ballon d’Or winner in January.
Thomas Tuchel, who was sacked by Chelsea in September and replaced by Graham Potter, was opposed to the idea in the summer.
Asked about Ronaldo in October, Potter kept his cards close to his chest, telling reporters: “I never speak about players that aren’t’ Chelsea players.”
Betfair’s odds had Chelsea as the 4/1 favourites to sign Ronaldo after details of the interview were posted online, per the Evening Standard.
Which other clubs could Ronaldo realistically join?
Would Jose Mourinho be tempted to reunite with Ronaldo in Italy?
AS Roma are currently the 5/1 seconds favourites to sign the legendary Portuguese forward.
Sporting Lisbon, Ronaldo’s first club, are the third favourites at 15/2, followed by any Saudi Arabian club (9/1), any MLS club (10/1), Wolves (12/1), Paris Saint-Germain (16/1), Atletico Madrid (20/1) and Real Madrid (50/1).
One thing’s for sure: Ronaldo firmly believes he still belongs at the highest level, competing for the biggest team and individual honours.
He will now need to impress at the 2022 World Cup finals in Qatar to prove that he still belongs at one of Europe’s elite clubs.
