Cristiano Ronaldo to Marseille!? Fans get #RonaldOM trending

Robin Bairner

• Updated: 20 Jul 2022 03:36 CDT
• 4 min read

Could Cristiano Ronaldo leave Manchester United for Marseille this summer in a move that would rekindle his long-running rivalry with Lionel Messi? That is certainly what fans of the Ligue 1 club are speculating as #RonaldOM became the top trend on Twitter in France on Tuesday.

Ronaldo is known to be unhappy at Old Trafford, disappointed at Man Utd’s lack of competitiveness as well as their ambitions in the transfer market, while he has not joined up with the squad for either pre-season training or their present tour of Thailand and Australia.

Meanwhile, comments made by Piers Morgan, known to be a friend of Ronaldo, on UK radio station TalkSport further fuelled speculation he could leave.

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"I have had quite a lot of contact in the last week. I certainly think it'd be highly unlikely if Cristiano Ronaldo plays another game for Manchester United. I just think mentally he's moved on," Morgan said.

He further added: “I think he could end up in a rather surprising place.”

Could Marseille fit the bill?

Certainly, there are attractive factors to Marseille. For a start, the Stade Velodrome club will boast Champions League football that Man Utd do not have, while they also have the type of fervent support that Ronaldo is known to love.

On top of all this, he would once again come head-to-head with Lionel Messi, now at PSG, in a rivalry that would hark back to the players’ peak days trading blows in El Clasico as the Argentine turned out for Barcelona and CR7 strutted his stuff for Real Madrid. After all, the PSG-Marseille rivalry is one of the fiercest in Europe.

Could Ronaldo move to Marseille?

Marseille would likely welcome Ronaldo with open arms, but the reality is that they cannot come close to his wage demands and so this rumour appears to be a complete non-starter unless the Portuguese is ready to make some huge concessions.

For a club like OM, which is not seriously competing for the Ligue 1 title or capable of making a real impression in the Champions League, this is highly unlikely, particularly as their fans have criticised their own transfer dealings this summer.

Indeed, the ‘rumour’ was kicked off by a tweet from a fan who posted: ‘#RonaldOM’ with an hour glass emoji. After this caught fans’ attention, the user posted again, displaying Ronaldo in Marseille colours apparently celebrating a goal at the old, open-air Velodrome.

While Ronaldo to Marseille would be an exciting transfer for Ligue 1, it is not a deal that is about to take place and the rumour is little more than a joke among fans of the club.