PSG snub ‘difficult’ Ronaldo signing as club president wishes ‘fantastic’ free agent all the best

Jason Soutar
Cristiano Ronaldo during a match

PSG president Nasser Al Khelaifi has wished Cristiano Ronaldo all the best after revealing his side will not sign the former Manchester United forward.

Ronaldo left United last month after his contract was terminated by mutual consent.

The 37-year-old left the club with no choice but to let him leave after his explosive interview with Piers Morgan.

Ronaldo said United tried to force him out in the summer, though it is believed that it was him trying to force an exit.

After telling the Red Devils to let him leave, there was an alarmingly low amount of clubs showing an interest in signing him.

Almost immediately, PSG were linked due to their huge funds, but they were quickly ruled out.

As were Bayern Munich, Real Madrid, Barcelona, and nearly every top club in Europe.

Rumours of a move to Napoli, Sporting Lisbon and Chelsea remained, with Blues co-owner Todd Boehly reportedly keen, unlike his head coach at the time, Thomas Tuchel.

However, the only club to come in for the Portugal captain were an unnamed side from Saudi Arabia.

He rejected that offer as he sought to continue playing in Europe.

Given the fact he is now officially a free agent, there were some expectations that there would be more of a race on to sign Ronaldo.

That does not appear to be the case, though.

Once again, interest appears to be coming from the middle east, with Al-Nassr offering him a mammoth two-and-a-half-year deal worth a reported £200million per season.

He does have interest from more than one country, however, with an Australian A-League side offering him a contract. The race is on.

Unsurprisingly, PSG are not interested in signing Ronaldo.

Club president Al Khelaifi said it is “difficult” to see his side sign the Portuguese legend, noting that he is “still an amazing player”.

“Signing Ronaldo? The three players that we have [Lionel Messi, Neymar and Kylian Mbappe] it’s very difficult to think about Ronaldo,” Al Khelaifi said.

“I wish him all the best. He’s fantastic and he’s still an amazing player.”

After a difficult start to the season with United, Ronaldo was hoping to find some solace in captaining Portugal at the World Cup.

He scored on matchday one against Ghana, but did not look too sharp.

The 37-year-old then claimed a goal that he did not touch against Uruguay before playing 65 minutes against South Korea in Portugal’s final Group H encounter.

After being visibly annoyed at being taken off with his side already through to the last 16 of the World Cup, Portugal boss Fernando Santos dropped him for the knockout match against Switzerland.

Imagine my shock as Portugal put in their best performance of the tournament on their way to a 6-1 win, with Ronaldo’s replacement, 21-year-old Goncalo Ramos, scoring a hat-trick.

Despite the terrific showing, the Ronaldo circus went on.

His sister took to social media to blast Santos for dropping her brother, and the Portugal FA had to release a statement saying Ronaldo did not threaten to leave Qatar.

“Congratulations Portugal,” Ronaldo’s sibling, Elma Aveiro, wrote on Instagram. “While the 11 players sang the national anthem all the cameras were on you.

“What a shame we were not able to enjoy the best player in the world for 90 minutes. The crowd didn’t stop calling for you and shouting your name.”

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