Cristiano Ronaldo and Man Utd have an obvious January transfer problem
Robin Bairner
- Updated: 5 Oct 2022 10:43 BST
- 3 min read
Manchester United and Cristiano Ronaldo may be prepared for a transfer in January, but there is one obvious stumbling block that could prevent the five-time Ballon d’Or winner from departing Old Trafford.
Ronaldo campaigned to leave the club in the summer and failed to participate in much of their pre-season programme, having been given special dispensation by the Red Devils to sit out because of personal reasons.
The Portugal star missed the tour of Thailand and Australia, and when he did return to the fold for a friendly against Rayo Vallecano he departed the ground early and drew criticism from manager Erik ten Hag.
Since then, Ronaldo’s status as a second-string player at Man Utd has only been confirmed. Since starting the 4-0 defeat against Brentford, he has not featured from the beginning of a Premier League match. Meanwhile, in the Europa League, he has started both games, scoring his only goal of the season to date against FC Sheriff from the penalty spot.
Ronaldo faces familiar transfer problem
This sets the scene for a transfer in January, but Ronaldo will face the same problem in brokering a move during the next window as he did in the summer.
Quite simply, there are unlikely to be any suitors for him as things stand.
Now a pure centre-forward, there are no top European clubs looking for a player of his build.
Ronaldo’s desire to play Champions League football was made evident in the summer as he sought to leave Manchester United, but none of the leading contenders for that crown are likely to chase him.
Who might make a move?
Perhaps there might be the possibility of a move to Bayern Munich in January should their problems continue, although even for that to happen, the Bundesliga champions would need to move away from their usual age and wage profile.
Otherwise, Ronaldo looks out of options among the leading clubs. Maybe only an injury to a leading star, like Karim Benzema at Real Madrid, can open a door for him at this point.
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Those teams a level down, a Borussia Dortmund for example, will struggle to justify matching his huge wage.
And on top of this, Man Utd surely won’t consider selling him to a Premier League rival.
So while a transfer is looking an attractive solution to Ronaldo’s problem, finding a suitable move looks entirely complicated.
