Koke: 'There is no talk of Cristiano Ronaldo in the Atletico dressing room'
Suraj Radia
- 28 Jul 2022 17:17 BST
- 3 min read
Atletico Madrid captain Koke dismissed speculation linking the club to Cristiano Ronaldo, insisting the team is focused on the players already at the club.
Ronaldo has been desperate to leave Manchester United and Atletico have been touted as a potential destination for the 37-year-old, although the club have played down the links.
Atletico fans were vocal in their disapproval of the move, holding up a banners in their pre-season fixtures expressing that the former Real Madrid man was not welcome at the club.
Koke refused to be drawn into the speculation, telling Spanish media: “There is no talk of Cristiano Ronaldo in the dressing room. In the end, many rumours are heard outside.
“My teammates are great players. We have strikers from Argentina, Brazil, some from Portugal, France and Spain. Great players who can do great things.
“I trust them all. They are great players and we don't listen to what is outside, we focus on the group that we are.”
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What does the future hold for Ronaldo?
Ronaldo returned to Manchester this week for talks with United officials over his future, however no resolution was reached, with both sides standing firm on their stances.
United are refusing to sell their top scorer from last season, while Ronaldo is demanding the club allow him to leave, with some reports suggesting the Portuguese forward even asked to be released from his contract.
The stumbling block, however, seems to be the lack of interest in Ronaldo, with Bayern Munich, Atletico and Paris Saint-Germain all ruling out a move for him.
'Ronaldo represents the antithesis of our values' ❌
Atletico Madrid fans have protested against signing the former Real Madrid forward 👇 pic.twitter.com/U9ozh5kOdr— Sky Sports News (@SkySportsNews) July 28, 2022
Atletico president Enrique Cerezo insisted that the club could not afford a move for Ronaldo, saying: “I don’t know who invented the Cristiano story but I’ll tell you that it’s practically impossible that he comes here.”
Bayern CEO Oliver Kahn also confirmed that his side would not be moving for Ronaldo, telling the media: “We discussed this issue because otherwise we would not be doing our job properly.
“But we came to the conclusion that, despite all the appreciation for Cristiano, he would not have fit our philosophy in the current situation.”
Ronaldo is likely to remain at Old Trafford for the near future, although it is uncertain whether he will feature in their Premier League opener against Brighton next weekend.
