How Blackburn FLOP stopped Dortmund signing Ronaldo

Jacque Talbot

• Updated: 14 Mar 2023 21:38 GMT
• 3 min read

Cristiano Ronaldo was close to a move to Borussia Dortmund and could have joined had their signing of Anthony Modeste not been wrapped up.

A report in SportBild suggests that had the former Blackburn player’s move not been sealed on August 9, then a move for Ronaldo would have been feasible as he was offered to the club only a few days later after the Modeste transfer.

Ronaldo publicly stated his desire to move from Manchester United over the summer following their lacklustre season where they missed out on a Champions League spot.

The attacker had a series of tantrums and his bombshell interview with Piers Morgan, in which he slammed Erik ten Hag, eventually saw his contract terminated at Old Trafford.

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During the summer he was actively trying to force a move away, with agent Jorge Mendes attempting to get him Champions League football.

BVB considered Ronaldo

Dortmund were considered and it appears those links were real - had Modeste not

been signed they well could have looked more at Ronaldo, whose camp even sent through a proposal in the subsequent days.

There was even a link at the time between Bayern Munich and Ronaldo - but executive Oliver Kahn was quick to shoot down the claims.

At the time, Borussia were looking for an experienced replacement for Sebastien Haller, who was suffering from cancer. Their coach Edin Terzic deemed Modeste to be a suitable fit as the striker’s profile was most similar to Haller's.

But at BVB, Modeste has struggled to find his feet - netting just twice in 25 outings.

The veteran striker enjoyed rich success in front of goal for Koln during his time there, a particular highlight being his 23 goals in 35 games during the 2021-22 season - while his record stands at 34 in 84 games overall for the Cologne club.