Simeone: Ronaldo belongs to Real Madrid, not Atletico
Suraj Radia
- 16 Oct 2022 12:34 BST
- 3 min read
Diego Simeone has insisted that Cristiano Ronaldo could never play for Atletico Madrid after his iconic spell with rivals Real Madrid, after reports linked the club with the Manchester United star during the summer.
Ronaldo was desperate to leave United in search of Champions League football and his agent Jorge Mendes reportedly had contact with Atletico over a potential move.
The speculation prompted an angry reaction from fans, with some making their feelings clear with banners and chants during pre-season games, but Simeone has dismissed any talk of a move.
“The little birds [journalists] told you anything far from what has happened,” Simeone told Spanish reporter Martin Liberman. “People speak sometimes to tell what they want to tell, not reality.”
“Ronaldo is an absolute benchmark for Real Madrid. I wouldn’t see [Martín] Palermo or [Juan Román] Riquelme playing in River or [Ariel] Ortega in Boca. There are situations that are very clear.
“A fan yelled at me in a preseason game, without knowing anything about what was happening but because of the rumours, a great phrase: 'Cholo, be careful, the Champions League is not at all costs’.
“I liked it because it is a very healthy reflection, from a fan, from the heart and reflecting what I felt at the time, beyond not denying Ronaldo’s story.”
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Ronaldo running out of options
Speculation again heated up this week surrounding a potential move for Ronaldo to Atletico after reports that Joao Felix had requested to leave the La Liga side.
United had made an approach for Felix during the summer and there were suggestions that Ronaldo could be offered as a bargaining tool in any negotiations.
However, Felix is unlikely to be sold in January despite his relationship with Simeone believed to be strained after the 22-year-old found himself on the bench in recent weeks.
Another NO to Ronaldo 👎https://t.co/iEmCjiIzJY
— Football Transfers (@Transfersdotcom) October 16, 2022
Simeone admitted that he was partially to blame for not getting the best out of the player Atletico paid €126 million for in 2020 but insisted Felix was paying the price for failing to impress with his performances.
"Do you think I'm not playing Joao to lose? No manager does that,” Simeone said. “"When he starts to play well again in training, he works, he recovers his goalscoring touch, which we need, he will play.”
