Cristiano Ronaldo wants to leave Juventus. The Serie A club are okay letting him go. But a move to Manchester City doesn't add up.
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The final few days of the 2021 football summer transfer window has seen a number of high-profile moves being mooted. Kylian Mbappe’s desire to join Real Madrid is now public knowledge. So is Harry Kane deciding against pushing for a move away from Tottenham Hotspur. Yet in a transfer window that has seen both Lionel Messi and Sergio Ramos join the same club, it’s safe to say anything is possible. Apparently the football universe agrees, because the latest rumour doing the rounds involves Cristiano Ronaldo returning to Manchester. But not to the red side of the town where he first made his name.
No, the new story, verified by several reliable journalists, has Ronaldo heading to Manchester City. This would be an interesting move for two reasons: one, it would see Ronaldo become the highest-profile player to turn out for both Manchester sides.
Secondly, it would see the Portuguese superstar play under Pep Guardiola. Guardiola, it is worth noting, is the manager who moreso than anyone else aided the ascendancy to superstardom of Lionel Messi.
But while this makes for a good story – and a potential social media meltdown – is the move really feasible? Well, yes and no. Let’s analyse both sides of the debate.
Ronaldo joined Juventus in 2018 on a four-year deal. The transfer made plenty of sense at the time – Ronaldo showed no signs of slowing down, after all. What’s more, he was seen as the missing piece the club needed to clinch the Champions League trophies.
Remember, they made the final in both 2015 and 2017 – losing out both times, it must be noted, to Ronaldo and Real Madrid. In 2018, the two teams were drawn together in the quarter-finals, a match decided by Ronaldo’s spectacular bicycle kick.
The ovation Ronaldo receiceved from the Old Lady faithful that night was key to him eventually joining the side. But the other main factor was their re-emergence as a force in Europe.
Strangely, Juventus have only regressed as a side since Ronaldo joined them. They lost out in the Champions League quarter-finals in 2019 and did worse in the next two seasons, exiting the tournament in the Round of 16.
And while Ronaldo is happy winning league titles and domestic cups, it is the Champions League that appeals most to him. Yet the club he is at isn’t getting closer to winning it – quite the opposite, in fact. Hence the desire on his end to leave.
It is worth noting that publicly Juventus have stated he will stay on for the season. Given they have not actually received any concrete bids for him, it makes sense for them to say that.
However, the more pragmatic view on the matter is that Juventus would be glad to get Ronaldo’s wages off the books. Ronaldo makes an annual net salary of 31 million euros a year, a sum very few clubs could match.
What’s more, Juve would like to get a transfer fee for the player too, given he still has a year left on his deal. It is believed a sum in the 30 million euro mark would be enough to get a deal done.
The fee is not the issue for any side – indeed, who wouldn’t want one of the greatest players ever at a cut price. Yet it is his wage demands which would rule many clubs out of the running. And that is potentially an issue for Juventus, even though they’d like to keep him for another season.
The club have spent lavishly in recent seasons, not just on player transfers but managerial sackings too.
And given the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic and the failed European Super League, it makes sense that the club are now reportedly looking to build a more sustainable model for the future.
So while Juventus will be fine with him leaving, they also won’t stand in his way if a suitable offers comes up. The only issue with this? There have seemingly been no suitable offers.
Even City, who are one of the few clubs that could meet his wage demands, haven’t offered a fee and expect a free transfer.
But even if striking a deal is possible, it would be a left-of-field move for City and Guardiola.
Guardiola’s tactical demands from his players are well-known. Even at Barcelona, when he gave Messi something of a free role, he expected the Argentine to press the opposition centre-backs.
And over time, Guardiola has placed a high workload on his strikers. It’s one of the reasons why Gabriel Jesus remains a key part of his City side, even with an erratic goal-scoring record.
The specific instructions he can have for his forwards take time to learn and often requires unlearning of old habits. Both Robert Lewandowski at Bayern Munich and Sergio Aguero at City can attest to this.
Would Guardiola expect Cristiano Ronaldo to put in that work? Probably not. But it would require a total restructuring of the team’s system of play.
With Ronaldo nowadays essentially operating as an in-the-box goal poacher, it puts extra defensive workload on the other attackers.
Would it make sense to ask Raheem Sterling, Ferran Torres, Phil Foden, Riyad Mahrez or Jack Grealish to cover for the Portuguese superstar?
Guardiola might do it anyway, but it would be out of character for him. He wanted Harry Kane because the English forward is capable of more than just scoring goals.
He drops deep to link up the play, can make plenty of key passes and even run the channels. Ronaldo, in his current guise, does just one of those things.
As such, City going for Ronaldo would make sense on paper. But it would compromise a well-balanced football system that is already thriving and well-set for the future.
And that would be something unwise to put at risk. Even for a GOAT candidate like Ronaldo.
