From world star to transfer clown: Substitute Cristiano Ronaldo falls deeper and deeper

Cristiano Ronaldo is one of the greatest players in football history.

From world star to transfer clown: Substitute Cristiano Ronaldo falls deeper and deeper

Cristiano Ronaldo is one of the greatest players in football history. There are no two opinions about this. The 37-year-old has dominated the game alongside Lionel Messi for well over a decade. However, the past transfer summer shows: The Portuguese missed the jump.

The transfer window is closed. Cristiano Ronaldo stays at Manchester United. Stop! Stop! Maybe not. Because that's not entirely true. The transfer window in Europe's top leagues is closed, but not in all leagues. In Turkey, the window will not close until next week. And so the rumors about a possible change of CR7 will accompany us for a while. Its name is too tempting, its fall too disturbing.

We remember: PSG, Real and Atlético Madrid, Barcelona, ​​Chelsea, Naples, Sporting from his Portuguese homeland and the two top German clubs Bayern Munich and Borussia Dortmund were among the clubs in the past few months that were not interested in signing at all of the former world footballer had.

Ronaldo had applied quite offensively everywhere there, and is said to have roared through the dressing room in Manchester from time to time talking about his new dream club. But no matter who Ronaldo's new dream club was and no matter who his notorious advisor, Jorge Mendes, also met, in the end it rained refusals.

"It was out of the question for us because we did other things," said Bayern sports director Hasan Salihamidžić, the new transfer king of the Bundesliga, and was still friendly. Respect for Ronaldo was often heard. But not for the 37-year-old Ronaldo, but for his achievements in football. Nobody wanted to derive a transfer from this.

At Sporting, the coach wanted to give up. Clubs from the B category of international football such as Borussia Dortmund would have alienated the entire squad with the financing of the annual salary. Other clubs simply wondered what else he could bring to a team and came up with a rather scathing answer. At Real Madrid, they sneered at the rumors referring to age. At Atlético Madrid, the fans went on the barricades.

Serious interest in the old, expensive and completely outdated player with all his airs and graces could only be heard from the US MLS league and from Saudi Arabia. Not exactly dream leagues for the 37-year-old, who is still confident of playing a leading role at a club in Europe's elite.

Fenerbahçe Istanbul is not one of them either. There he canceled some time ago coach Jorge Jesus. "He doesn't want to come, he has other ideas. I don't think he wants to play in any other league than one of the five big leagues," said the 68-year-old Portuguese in mid-August, denying initial rumors of Ronaldo's possible move to the former club World Champion Mesut Ozil.

But after CR7 slammed all the doors in Europe and the transfer window - unlike in Turkey - was closed in the big leagues, the Portuguese attitude is said to have changed. At least that's what the Turkish press knows. "Ajansspor" even reported a basic agreement. Only details should be clarified. Or not. Only a short time later, club officials denied the report, according to other Turkish media.

Meanwhile, Ronaldo was on the bench for Manchester United, who drew 1-0 at Leicester City on Thursday. The goalscorer for the team of new coach Erik ten Hag? Jadon Sancho. The former Dortmunder only made room for Ronaldo after almost 70 minutes. He will probably have to make friends with the bank in the future. Ten Hag's system simply no longer provides for someone like Ronaldo.

The next day, the US broadcaster ESPN published a list of the winners and losers of the transfer window. At the top of the losers was Cristiano Ronaldo. "Regardless of his past performance, personality or reputation, Ronaldo could still struggle to find the right sporting opportunity in January in the increasingly value-driven, age-heavy European transfer market," the US broadcaster wrote. Ronaldo missed the jump. Once revered as a hero, he has long since become one of the saddest clowns in world football.

(This article was first published on Friday, September 02, 2022.)