Carlo Ancelotti interested in bringing Cristiano Ronaldo's teammate to Real Madrid - Reports
Real Madrid manager Carlo Ancelotti is eager to sign Cristiano Ronaldo's teammate Aymeric Laporte, according to The Athletic. The report, however, adds that the move is likely to be a costly affair.
The LaLiga giants are in the middle of a defensive crisis at the moment. David Alaba, who picked up an ACL injury in December last year, hasn't returned to full fitness yet.
Meanwhile, Eder Militao also ruptured his ACL earlier this month and won't be playing again this season. The situation has left Los Blancos with Antonio Rudiger and Jesus Vallejo as their only senior options at the back. The latter, interestingly, has appeared just once this season, registering 10 minutes of first team football.
Real Madrid have promoted Raul Asencio to the senior side for the job and the youngster has done very well so far. He has started the last two games, against Leganes and Liverpool, and could be in the starting XI for Sunday's game against Getafe.
However, Los Blancos are wary of putting too much pressure on the 21-year-old and are likely to look for solutions in January. Ancelotti has identiifed Laporte as an option.
The Spain international won Euro 2024 with La Roja this summer, and has experience of playing in LaLiga and the Premier League. However, the 30-year-old is under contract with Al-Nassr until 2026, so Real Madrid may have to pay a significant fee to sign him in the winter. Interestingly, Cristiano Ronaldo's contract with the Saudi club expires in 2025, but he is expected to sign a new deal.
When did Cristiano Ronaldo leave Real Madrid?
Cristiano Ronaldo left Real Madrid in the summer of 2018 to join Juventus. The Portuguese had moved to the Santiago Bernabeu in 2009 from Manchester United.
The five-time Ballon d'Or winner left Los Blancos as one of their greatest ever players, winning 16 trophies during his time with the club. He is also Real Madrid's record goalscorer, with 450 goals from 438 games.
Cristiano Ronaldo spent three seasons with the Bianconeri, registering 101 goals from 134 games. He won two Serie A titles, two Supercoppa Italiana trophies, and one Coppa Italia.
The Portuguese left Turin in the summer of 2021 to return to Manchester United. However, his second coming at Old Trafford wasn't fruitful and the player ended up leaving in December 2022. The 39-year-old moved to Al-Nassr and has scored 73 goals from 82 games for the Riyadh-based club to date.