Even at the age of 37, Cristiano Ronaldo remains one of the most dangerous footballers on the planet. He is certainly the most famous. But with his career slowly reaching its sunset phase, and with no Champions League football for Manchester United next term - it isn’t out of the question that he could head for the exit door. But which clubs are in the running to make a shocking transfer. We’ve headed to the bookies to find out.
If Sadio Mane joining from Liverpool wasn’t enough, could we potentially see Ronaldo join the German champions? They are currently the 5/1 favourites with Betfred to sign him, and a lot hinges on the future of the main man Robert Lewandowski. If he does depart the Allianz Arena this summer, then there will be a giant gaping goalscoring whole left in Julien Nagelsmann’s attack.
He’s played and won league titles in England, Italy and Spain - so perhaps one year in Germany would allow him to ‘dominate’ another division.
A return to Los Blancos? It would be a sensational comeback but as we have seen at Manchester United, moving back to a former club is not always the fairy tale it appears. Given Real Madrid’s position of strength as European and league champions, he would be rejoining the biggest and best club in the world - but it seems unlikely. Madrid were happy to let him go as a 33-year-old. It’s unlikely they will go back when he is 37.
READ MORE:
- Messi at 35: The numbers behind the 'GOAT'
- Michael Beale on QPR's transfer plans and new vision
- Brazil 9/2 for World Cup, Argentina 8/1*
The homecoming? It seems certain to happen one day at the end of Ronaldo’s career, but is he there quite ready to stop playing in one of Europe’s big five leagues? In 12 or 24 months time this could seem like a real possibility, but it feels as if the Sporting spell that opened his book will have to wait a little longer to write the final chapter.
Surely not. But why not? Well, had Kylian Mbappe moved on to Real Madrid then these odds would have been much shorter, but remember that Neymar is still linked with a move away this summer. There’s still that fading dream for every football fan on the planet that we may see Lionel Messi and Ronaldo on the same team before their time is up, and PSG have the finances to make it happen.
Inter Milan have signed Romelu Lukaku back on loan from Chelsea, so unless something crazy unfolds over the next few months, this surely has little chance of materialising. A return to Serie A seems incredibly unlikely at this stage.
*18+, terms and conditions apply, odds subject to change.
