Cristiano Ronaldo reportedly told Jorge Mendes he wanted to join Bayern Munich or Chelsea when he was looking to leave Manchester United.
Following his first season back at Old Trafford in the summer of 2022, Ronaldo had expressed his desire to move on given United hadn’t qualified for the Champions League.
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Bayern and Chelsea were heavily linked with the five-time Ballon d’Or winner at the time.
Now, according to Goal, the centre-forward actually identified the two clubs as the only teams he wanted to join.
It’s understood he relayed this information to his now ex-agent, Mendes, who had managed his remarkable career at the very highest level up until the start of this year.
However, no deals ever materialised before the start of the 2022/23 season, and Ronaldo looked destined to stay at Man United until the expiration of his contract at the end of the campaign.
After starting just ten games and scoring three goals before the break for the World Cup, not to mention being banished from Erik ten Hag’s squad due to refusing to come on against Tottenham, Ronaldo eventually left Man United following his explosive TalkTV interview.
Following his run to the World Cup quarter-finals with Portugal, the 37-year-old then signed a £177million-per-year contract with Saudi Arabian side Al-Nassr.
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And Spanish outlet El Mundo reports that professional ties broke down between Ronaldo and Mendes when the agent was unable to deliver the move that his client demanded.
Chelsea owner Todd Boehly had been said to be interested in taking the wantaway Man United star last summer, but then-manager Thomas Tuchel wasn’t keen.
Meanwhile, Bayern CEO Olivier Khan said the move for Ronaldo would not have ‘fit their philosophy’ following internal discussions.
Ronaldo has since made his debut for Al-Nassr, as well as playing and scoring in a Saudi All-Star XI clash against Paris Saint-Germain and rival Lionel Messi.
