Reports: Cristiano Ronaldo rejected 3 European giants before Juventus move
What's the story?
When Cristiano Ronaldo spoke about his 9 trophy-laden seasons-long time at Real Madrid in past tense, after helping Los Blancos win their 3rd consecutive UEFA Champions League title, it triggered a whole lot of speculation over his future. However, there was little doubt that he'd attract some top suitors.
Eventually, Ronaldo completed a move to Serie A behemoths, Juventus. Now, recent reports from El Mundo (via The Sun and Marca) claim that Ronaldo was, in fact, subject to interest from 3 massive European clubs - his former home, Manchester United, AC Milan, and Paris Saint-Germain, but subsequently turned them all down.
In case you didn't know...
On the 10th of July, 2018, the Portuguese superstar completed the switch to Juventus for a reported fee of €100 million.
Having conquered England with Manchester United (9 major trophies in 6 years) and Spain with Real Madrid (15 major trophies in 9 years), Ronaldo cited the necessity of a new challenge as the reason behind his move, setting out to find a new challenge with the 7-time defending Italian champions.
The heart of the matter
Ronaldo was reportedly intent on leaving, and allegedly turned down a staggering deal believed to be worth £26.7m-a-year to stay at Madrid.
Further, according to the aforementioned reports, before completing his transfer to Juventus, Ronaldo turned down Serie A's AC Milan, Premier League's Manchester United and Ligue 1's Paris Saint-Germain.
Bolstered by Chinese businessman Li Yonghong's deep-pocketed funding, Milan - the first team to show interest - reportedly submitted an eye-watering offer worth £133 million for Ronaldo. However, Milan's lack of success in recent years prompted Ronaldo to turn them down.
Next came his former employers, Manchester United. The Premier League side were believed to be keen to see him return to Old Trafford. Alas, the deal they offered was deemed to be insufficient and talks never quite made it past the rudimentary stages. Meanwhile, several other reports claim that Ronaldo was seeking a completely different setting and would've turned them down regardless.
Last, but certainly not the least, came PSG. The Ligue 1 champions were always touted to be top contenders to lure Ronaldo away from Madrid. However, their offer came with a catch. Ronaldo was only to be signed on deadline day, so as to avert the possibility of Madrid coming for Kylian Mbappe or Neymar as Ronaldo's heir at Los Blancos.
This condition was viewed as a risky proposition by Ronaldo, who turned them down as well and then personally decided to investigate the possibility of a move to Juventus. Speaking about Juventus, he had previously said:
“I like them because they are an organised club and I do not forget that they tried to sign me when I was at Sporting CP.”
After scoring a stunning overhead goal against Juventus in last season's UEFA Champions League quarter-final, Ronaldo received a standing ovation, not just from Real Madrid fans, but also from every Juventus fan at the stadium.
This reception and acknowledgement of his performance is said to have further helped him decide on Juventus.
Video: The goal that earned Ronaldo a standing ovation from Juventus fans
What's next?
After initially struggling at Juventus, Ronaldo seems to have picked up the pace and rediscovered his touch.
He has now notched 3 goals, 4 assists and 5 Man-of-the-match awards in 7 Serie A matches, as he looks to fire Juventus to their 8th consecutive Scudetto.