A few weeks ago, the odds of Cristiano Ronaldo joining Wolves were thought to be about the same as your chances of getting Glastonbury tickets.
Pretty slim, but the forward’s incendiary interview with Piers Morgan has burned his remaining bridges with Manchester United and it now looks inevitable that he will be leaving in January. In the summer, clubs were not falling over themselves to sign him and one Premier League goal since then won’t have changed that.
Ronaldo is now 37 and even before he revealed he felt “betrayed” by the club and had “no respect” for Erik ten Hag, his outburst towards the end of the 2-0 win over Tottenham last month suggested he was heading out of the club imminently. United even began to consider releasing him on a free transfer. Days later, Ten Hag confirmed he would not be part of the squad to face Chelsea and would be told to train with the under-21s.
The pair also clashed in pre-season, when Ronaldo left Old Trafford before the end of a friendly with Rayo Vallecano in response to being taken off. Ten Hag termed that “unacceptable” and told him he was expected to follow certain “standards and values”.
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Yet there are two stumbling blocks standing in the way of Ronaldo’s exit. As reported by i last month, potential suitors have been deterred by his wages – understood to be in the region of £385,000 – and by his egotistical behaviour since returning to the club from Juventus. Ralf Rangnick also had to endure Ronaldo’s wrath after substituting him and his conduct has put off a number of big clubs.
One of the few who has leapt to his defence is Sporting boss Ruben Amorim, who told Portuguese publication Ojogo on Sunday night that “everyone at the club likes him”, adding: “He will decide his future.”
In light of those comments, Sporting are now the favourites to instigate a homecoming for a player they sold to United for just £12m as an 18-year-old in the summer of 2003. That would still allow Ronaldo a fairytale ending to his career even if he is unable to tempt one of the European elite.
Cristiano Ronaldo’s next club
- Sporting Lisbon: 3-1
- Chelsea: 4-1
- Any MLS Club: 6-1
- PSG, Napoli: 12-1
- Roma, Man City: 16-1
- Atletico Madrid, Newcastle, Arsenal: 25-1
- Real Madrid: 50-1
Odds via Betfair and correct on 14 November
If he is to stay in England, Chelsea’s odds are also relatively narrow, the Blues having scored just one goal in their last three league games. After failing to employ Romelu Lukaku as a conventional hit man, Thomas Tuchel and subsequently Graham Potter turned to a combination of Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang and wide man Raheem Sterling in attack.
Wolves, meanwhile, have the advantage of boasting plenty of Ronaldo’s international team-mates with 10 Portuguese squad members courtesy of the club’s links to super-agent Jorge Mendes, who also represents Ronaldo.
As alternatives, bookmakers are touting a move to MLS, which seems a more realistic prospect than Paris Saint-Germain, who already boast Lionel Messi, Neymar and Kylian Mbappe. Any hope of a switch to Manchester City seems dead in the water with Erling Haaland flourishing – though at least Ronaldo no longer has to worry about tarnishing his United legacy, which he has now trashed.
Ronaldo’s most explosive quotes
On interim boss Ralf Rangnick: “I’d never even heard of him. If you’re not even a coach, how are you going to be the boss of Man United?”
On Ten Hag: “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.”
On Wayne Rooney: “I don’t know why he criticises me so badly, probably because he finished his career and I’m still playing at high level. I’m not going to say that I’m looking better than him, which is true!”
On Man Utd: “The progress was zero. Since Sir Alex [Ferguson] left, I saw no evolution in the club. Nothing had changed. He [Ferguson] knows better than anybody that the club is not on the path they deserve to be. Nothing changed. Not only the pool, the jacuzzi, even the gym. They stopped in time, which surprised me a lot.”
On the fans: “I think the fans should know the truth. I want the best for the club. But you have some things inside [the club] that don’t help reach the top level as City, Liverpool and even now Arsenal.”
