Barcelona confirm talks with Ronaldo agent Jorge Mendes
Robin Bairner
- Updated: 6 Jul 2022 07:22 CDT
- 3 min read
Barcelona president Joan Laporta has said that he has held talks with Cristiano Ronaldo’s agent Jorge Mendes amid reports that the Portuguese wants to leave Manchester United.
Ronaldo has made it clear to the Red Devils that he wants out of the club, with a combination of a lack of Champions League football and the significant pay cut it will bring to him leading him to seek employment elsewhere. He has yet to show for pre-season training, with family reasons the official explanation why.
Barcelona have been cited as a possible destination for Ronaldo, despite the club’s difficult financial position and the five-time Ballon d’Or winner’s history with rivals Real Madrid.
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Laporta, meanwhile, has admitted that it is “interesting” that such a player is on the transfer market as Barcelona sell assets that should fuel their on-field spending.
Speaking at the presentation of Ivory Coast midfielder Franck Kessie, who has arrived on a free transfer from Milan, he said: “I had dinner on Monday with Jorge Mendes, and we talked about the transfer market in general.
“Cristiano Ronaldo? I'm not going to talk about the players who we discussed during the meeting, but it's always interesting to know that some names are on the market.”
Alemany’s reality check
But while Ronaldo to Barcelona transfer rumours continue to be bandied around, Mateu Alemany, the director of football of the club, gave a reminder to supporters where the club presently stands because of its financial status.
“Barca has exceeded the salary limit and we have to wait to sign up Sergi Roberto, Franck Kessie and Andreas Christensen,” he admitted.
Barcelona were in a similar position a year ago, when new arrivals Memphis Depay and Eric Garcia had to have a nervous wait to discover if they could be registered for the opening game of the season.
Given the club’s present difficulties in registering the players they already have agreements with, formulating a transfer for Ronaldo from Man Utd promises to be a complicated task for Barcelona.
