Aheed Abrar
Diego Simeone rubbishes claims of Manchester United star Cristiano Ronaldo moving to Atletico Madrid
Atletico Madrid manager Diego Simeone has rubbished claims of a move for Manchester United star Cristiano Ronaldo. The Argentine head coach claims the rumours that were linking the Portuguese back to Madrid are false.
Ronaldo wanted to leave Man United in the summer of 2022. The 37-year-old expressed his desire in the recent transfer window. However, no move ended up materialising for the five-time Ballon winner and he stayed in Manchester.
Atletico were one of the teams being mooted as potential destinations for Ronaldo in the summer. However, speaking to Martin Liebermann (h/t Express), Simeone has vehemently disregarded the talk of the Portuguese arriving at Metropolitano Stadium.
“Cristiano Ronaldo’s possible arrival at Atletico in the summer? The little birds told you anything far from what happened.
“People speak sometimes to tell what they want to tell, not reality.”
Ronaldo has a history with Atletico’s fierce city rivals Real Madrid. The five-time Ballon d’Or winner has played against Los Rojiblancos several times. And Simeone’s team do not have the best of memories of those encounters.
The 37-year-old won the Champions League final in 2014 with Los Blancos against Atletico. The Portuguese also scored a hattrick against Simeone’s team in the UCL round of 16 in 2019 to help Juventus to a 3-2 win on aggregate.
Ronaldo is not having the best of periods in Manchester at the moment. The five-time Ballon d’Or winner has had to settle for a place on the bench under Erik ten Hag.
The arrival of the Dutch manager at the end of last season has seen Ronaldo lose his prominence at Man United. The 37-year-old got just his second start for the Red Devils in the Premier League this season against Newcastle United.
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Ronaldo has not been in the best of forms either. The Portuguese has found the back of the net just twice in 12 appearances for Man United in all competitions in the 2022/23 campaign.
Will the 37-year-old opt to leave the club in the upcoming transfer window? Only time will tell.
