The most popular footballer in the world needs a new club - and Bayern Munich won't. Bayern boss Oliver Kahn says that Cristiano Ronaldo does not fit the ideas of the German record champions. The five-time world footballer would even come for free.
Cristiano Ronaldo is the most valuable footballer in the world, the marketing value of the Portuguese superstar with his 500 million Instagram followers is astronomical. And yet: The 37-year-old is available for free after the World Cup: After terminating his contract with Manchester United, Ronaldo can now sign a new contract, he does not charge a transfer fee. Of course, the overall Ronaldo package will still be expensive, and the superstar is said to already have a huge offer on the table: the Saudi club Al-Nassr is offering the 37-year-old Portuguese international a three-year contract with a total volume of 225 million US dollars (approx 216 million euros), as reported by the American broadcaster CBS Sports.
But Ronaldo, who played almost no sporting role at Manchester United this season and finally put himself on the sidelines with a critical interview, is still ambitious. Before the season he had forced his departure from Manchester in order to play for the 19th consecutive season on the biggest stage of club football - the Champions League. But the five-time world footballer had already received numerous cancellations from major European clubs in the summer.
Real Madrid president Florentino Pérez later dismissed calls for Ronaldo's signing with unflattering words. "Again? At 38?" he replied to fans asking him to bring "the beast" back to Los Blancos. "Personally, I think Cristiano Ronaldo is one of the greatest footballers that has ever walked the planet. But we came to the conclusion that no matter how much we all valued him, he would not have suited our philosophy in the current situation." Oliver Kahn, CEO of FC Bayern, already said in July.
And this assessment remains, even after the most recent development: the Bayern boss was asked by Sky whether the contractless Ronaldo could still become a professional at FC Bayern – and Kahn answered unequivocally: “Yes, I can rule that out. "Of course we've dealt with it before, it's our duty. But we have a clear idea and philosophy about how our squad should be put together. There's no discussion: we all appreciate and love Cristiano Ronaldo, but that's something that we don't suits our idea."
Ronaldo is currently at the World Cup in Qatar. Ronaldo scored straight away against Ghana. He is now the first professional to score at least one goal in five editions of the Men's World Cup. However, Miroslav Klose remains the most successful World Cup goalscorer ever with 16 goals. The past Manchester United has left Ronaldo behind: "We closed the chapter this week. The rest doesn't matter," said the 37-year-old. He did not comment on his future.
