'It's like asking us to sign Haaland!' - Marseille rule out Ronaldo transfer

Suraj Radia

• Updated: 23 May 2023 08:46 CDT
• 3 min read

Marseille president Pablo Longoria has dismissed speculation linking his club to Cristiano Ronaldo, admitting it would be like trying to sign Erling Haaland or Kevin De Bruyne.

The Ligue 1 outfit were the latest club to be linked with Ronaldo and the Manchester United forward was even encouraged to join by a host of former Marseille players.

However, Longoria blamed social media 'fake news' for the rumours and insisted Marseille needed to be more engaged in the reality of their means.

“It's the world of social networks to try to get as many views as possible," Longoria said. "Asking us to bring in Ronaldo is like asking us to bring in De Bruyne, Darwin Nunez, Haaland.

"Dreaming is a beautiful thing, but it's true that we have to be sincere: we have to do with the means we have.

"We have a sporting project which consists of improving ourselves every season, but above all maintaining an economic balance. For me, this is the most important thing."

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Does anybody want Ronaldo?!

Marseille are the latest club to explicitly deny an interest in Ronaldo, following suit of teams such as Bayern Munich and Atletico Madrid.

The 37-year-old has been touted around just about every major club in Europe after expressing his desire to leave United for Champions League football earlier in the summer.

Marseille's interest was believed to be more out of curiosity more than genuine interest and the club reportedly had even conducted a study to discover the financial and marketing logistics of signing Ronaldo.

Ronaldo's former club Sporting Lisbon are thought to be a potential option but should that move not work out, the Portuguese international appears likely to remain at Old Trafford this summer.

United initially had said their top scorer from last season was not for sale but they altered their stance following their poor start to the new campaign, believing Ronaldo's departure could lift the dressing room.

However, the team's 2-1 win over Liverpool and the arrival of £70 million midfielder Casemiro from Real Madrid has encouraged Ronaldo and he may now be content at seeing out his contract at United.