Real Madrid is the first team to repeat in the Champions League era. They won an unprecedented 12th crown with a second half decimation of Juventus. It was their third title in four years. Los Blancos were also able to hold off Barcelona for the La Liga title as well. It’s been a banner year for one of the world’s most recognizable clubs. But over the past few days, a story has surfaced that could turn all those smiles upside down. Cristiano Ronaldo wants to leave, or so say multiple reports. The figurehead of the club and all-time Champions League top scorer is looking for an exit in the wake of allegations of tax fraud surrounding image rights. It is a story out of left field, but one that begs the question: Where could CR7 land? Let’s speculate a bit.
MANCHESTER UNITED
Who says you can’t go home? Manchester United have tried fruitlessly several times before to lure Real Madrid stars to Old Trafford. Deals for Gareth Bale, James Rodriguez, and Sergio Ramos have all either fallen through or never really gained footing. But if Ronaldo is leaving Madrid, a return to familiar territory isn’t out of the realm of possibility. A swap deal involving many moving parts including David de Gea and Alvaro Morata has been reportedly bantered about. It is Jose Mourinho there now instead of Sir Alex Ferguson, but it is still Manchester United. This is the landing spot that I personally believe has the most viability. Nevertheless, the football world has swerved us before. Other avenues could easily present themselves.
PSG
The Parisians may have fallen a bit back in both the French and European superpower pecking order, but they still pack a mighty financial punch. PSG can spend with the best of them and no expense would be spared to bring in Ronaldo. A partnership up top with him and Edinson Cavani would be devastating. There would be little to no rockiness in the transition as both Paris Saint-Germain and Real Madrid play similar styles. I’d say if there were going to be a silver medalist in the Cristiano Ronaldo chase, it would be PSG. But let’s not discount the dark horses as well.
AC MILAN
Similar to some of the Manchester United rumors, Ronaldo’s venturing to Italy would involve a swap deal. For some reason, Real don’t seem settled on Keylor Navas as their goalkeeper. An infamous fax machine malfunction kept David de Gea from making the transfer several windows ago. Now if de Gea stays in Manchester, AC Milan’s teenage sensation Gianluigi Donnarumma becomes the next big target. New ownership means the once proud Rossoneri could potentially take on CR7’s massive wage bill, with Donnarumma and several other players going in the other direction to soften the transfer fee blow. Swaps, or trades, are rare in Europe, but it seems to be all the rage in regards to Ronaldo’s exit.
CHINESE SUPER LEAGUE
I wrote a long while back that the Chinese Super League was coming for our stars. While China’s free-spending ways have waned a bit, their clubs aren’t against throwing caution to the wind for a huge name. Wayne Rooney may be their current fixation, but let us not forget their play at Ronaldo last winter. Although unnamed, a Chinese Super League club was ready to drop €300m on Real Madrid’s lap for him. They were also prepared to dump a Brinks truck’s worth of cash, around €100m, in wages. Although it seems that time has passed, sleeping on Chinese influence in the global market is a naive move.
This will likely be a saga that drags out all summer. He may not even leave at all, but the seeds of doubt and a statement of intent makes this one of the bigger potential moves in European football history. As fans, we’ll all be glued to the papers, newswires, and Twitter for even the slightest bread crumbs of information. As for his suitors, they hope they will be the next stop in Ronaldo’s worldwide record breaking tour de force.