Cristiano Ronaldo Could Still Play Champions League This Season [Full Details]

Cristiano Ronaldo’s agent Jorge Mendes is reportedly still working to secure a new club for the Portuguese forward before the summer window closes.

Mendes is trying to seal a loan deal for Ronaldo to either Napoli or Sporting Lisbon, Goal.com reported.

Earlier this summer, Ronaldo had reportedly informed the Manchester United officials that he wanted to part ways, and no Champions League this season was seen as one of the reasons behind the star’s decision. A move to Napoli or Sporting will keep Ronaldo in the top European competition.

Mendes is also working on a swap deal for Ronaldo that would see the five-time Ballon d’Or winner move to Napoli and Nigeria’s Victor Osimhen move from the Naples club to Manchester United, according to a report from Sky Sport Italia’s Gianluca Di Marzio.

Ronaldo, who has never played in the Europa League, has entered the final year of his contract with Manchester United.

It has also been reported that Chelsea, who were among the front-runners to sign Ronaldo this summer, changed their mind because of then-Manchester United boss Ralf Rangnick. He convinced the Blues head coach Thomas Tuchel that Ronaldo wouldn’t fit well in his setup at Stamford Bridge.

Meanwhile, Napoli are aware of Mendes’ proposal and are now waiting for the Portuguese star’s agent to return to them with a concrete proposal.

However, the Serie A club is expecting a transfer fee of around $100 million for Osimhen and it is unclear if Manchester United would be willing to spend that much for the 23-year-old striker on the deadline day of the summer window.

The Erik ten Hag-managed club has already spent a massive amount this summer and the club is now working on another $99 million deal for Ajax winger Antony. The Brazilian striker has completed his medical in Manchester and the deal is expected to be officially announced Tuesday.

Osimhen is certainly not a bad choice and his style of play and goalscoring ability is quite similar to Darwin Nunez, who was the Red Devils’ top forward target at the beginning of the summer only to be beaten by Liverpool FC in the race to land the young and talented Uruguayan forward.

The deadline day of the 2022 summer is on Wednesday. Ronaldo’s future will be decided before Manchester United’s next game, which is a home Premier League fixture against Arsenal on Sunday.