Toxic Ronaldo has talked himself out of Chelsea move

Robin Bairner

• Updated: 23 May 2023 08:55 CDT
• 4 min read

Cristiano Ronaldo’s goal from his Piers Morgan interview on TalkTV was clearly to plot an exit from Manchester United.

He’s certainly managed that, with the establishment at Old Trafford having already started to dismantle his legacy at the club. He may not have left yet, but has has already checked him out.

Ronaldo scorched-earth policy in his interview, though, has made it impossible for any serious elite club to sign him. Not only did he target virtually everyone in a position of power or reverence at Manchester United since the departure of Sir Alex Ferguson in 2013.

MORE: From Man City bid to Messi: Ronaldo-Piers Morgan interview IN FULL

And make no mistake, Ronaldo still feels he has a place at football’s top table. “I want the best for the club. This is why I came to Manchester United,” he tellingly said while also branding the Old Trafford side as a “marketing club”.

His aim is to continue playing in the Champions League, yet in doing his best to engineer such a move, he has also ensured that no club he would like to move to will have him.

To Ronaldo and his legions of dedicated followers, his brand remains as strong as ever; to the world at large, though, his reputation is, for now, shattered.

MORE: What did Ronaldo say about Messi in Piers Morgan interview?

Ronaldo’s nuclear tactic backfires

Chelsea were interested in him in the summer, FootballTransfers confirmed at the time. This interest was drive by owner Todd Boehly, who was interested in what Ronaldo could do for the brand. The American will have seen Ronaldo go rogue and take napalm to Man Utd’s executives and think: ‘No thanks!’

Similarly, Bayern Munich admitted that they studied the possibility of a transfer for Ronaldo a matter of months ago before concluding it was a deal that did not want. A club that formerly had a reputation of behind-the-scenes bickering, they have no intention to return to their ‘FC Hollywood’ days, with Ronaldo confirming their summer decision was the right one.

No other clubs were seriously looking at Ronaldo, but he might have emerged as a wildcard option in January following the World Cup, where the possibility of a star player sustaining an injury is significant possibility. No now.

So Ronaldo has effectively sealed his passage to a retirement league. Offers could come from the likes of Turkey, MLS or Saudi Arabia, where he was offered a bumper deal previously.

It’s not been Ralf Rangnick or Erik ten Hag who has signed Cristiano Ronaldo’s death warrant at the top level of the game: it’s been Cristiano Ronaldo.