Revealed: Man Utd's last-minute bid to replace Ronaldo
FT Desk
- 10 Sept 2022 09:36 BST
- 3 min read
Cristiano Ronaldo ended up staying at Manchester United this summer, but the Red Devils had a contingency plan in place in case he left on transfer deadline day.
Ronaldo and his agent Jorge Mendes worked hard to find the player a new club that would play in the Champions League this season following United's failure to qualify, and new manager Erik ten Hag was privately open to him leaving.
Jorge Mendes trying to get Ronaldo out of Manchester 🚜 pic.twitter.com/Q2FS9d46BA
— Football Transfers (@Transfersdotcom) July 31, 2022
In the end, no move materialised, with Atletico Madrid and Sporting Lisbon unable to afford his transfer and Napoli later admitting that their interest was never that concrete. United were convinced he might leave until the final minute, though, and they targeted a Plan B.
Espanyol star Raul de Tomas was pegged as the man to replace Ronaldo's goals, the Real Madrid academy graduate having bagged 17 in 34 La Liga games for Espanyol last season.
De Tomas has since fallen out with his manager
"De Tomas has been open to leaving Espanyol after disagreements with new manager Diego Martinez," report Football Insider. "He has left him out of the matchday squad in the opening three La Liga games of the season.
"The forward was keen to join United, but a deal could not be agreed following deadline-day talks."
De Tomas is ranked at €21 million by Football Transfers sophisticated inhouse algorithm, but Espanyol were determined to drive his price up higher with United's interest coming so late in the transfer window.
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Instead, Ten Hag repurposed Marcus Rashford as a centre-forward, with the England international scoring three goals and providing two assists in his six Premier League games so far this season.
Ronaldo has been subjected to just one start and five substitute appearances and is yet to open his account this season having scored a team-high 18 league goals last term.
United could come back in for De Tomas in January, although his contract doesn't expire until summer 2026 so they would still have to pay up for him.
