The end of the world is nigh – but as with all other ‘end-of-the-world’ scenarios, in the case of Real Madrid and Cristiano Ronaldo the exact date of the apocalypse is liable to change.
Just as the doomsday predictors might call it on for Monday morning and then be giving interviews about why it never happened on Tuesday, so we could still be talking about Ronnie’s long goodbye for a while yet.
What we can be sure about is that Real Madrid are happy for Ronaldo to leave, and what we can also be sure about is that the player himself will gladly go – but that’s only half the battle.
Without a club willing to pay a transfer fee that will satisfy Real Madrid and wages that will satisfy Ronaldo, it counts for very little that both parties want a transfer to happen. A third party is needed.
At the start of this week a third party seemed to emerge. Tuttosport reported on Sunday that Juventus were interested in Ronaldo.
This was picked up in Spain with the suggestion that the Italians were willing to pay €100m (£88m) and the player would get a four-year deal worth €30m (£26.5m) a season.
Seasoned Juventus commentators don’t believe they will pay £88m for a 33-year-old nor promise to pay him £26.5m a season until he is 37, but there has been no denying of the story in Turin.
Real Madrid have also not denied it. They rushed to publicly deny they had tabled bids for Neymar and Kylian Mbappe this week, but they were silent on Ronaldo and Juventus. They have privately briefed that as yet there has been no offer.
Sources in Italy say Jorge Mendes, Ronaldo’s agent, proposed the deal to Juventus sporting director Fabio Paratici as opposed to the Italians taking the first step, but Juventus are clearly fascinated by the idea of giving one of the all-time greats a Serie A swansong.
There is already a bond between the player and Juventus supporters established last season in the Champions League when they gave him an ovation for his spectacular goal against them and he responded, hand on heart, ‘that has never happened to me before in my career.’
Juventus have won the last seven Scudettos, but what the supporters crave is a Champions League. Ronaldo has the midas touch in that tournament, so who better to help them better their two runners-up finishes from 2015 and 2017?
The Juventus share price shot up by four per cent just with the rumours, so the money men are smiling too.
dailymail.co.uk
