“I never talked to Cristiano Ronaldo to come here, never” – Diego Simeone says Manchester United superstar will never join Atletico Madrid 

Atletico Madrid manager Diego Simeone has declared that Manchester United superstar Cristiano Ronaldo will never join Los Rojiblancos, revealing that he has never asked Ronaldo to join Atletico.

La Liga giants Atletico Madrid were linked with a move for the Manchester United ace in the summer (via The Hindustan Times). It was claimed that Atletico had put Antoine Griezmann up for sale to make room for Ronaldo at the Wanda Metropolitano Stadium.

A lot has changed since then, with Simeone’s men making Griezmann’s stay permanent and Ronaldo slowly and steadily adjusting to life under Erik ten Hag at Manchester United.

In a recent interview, Simeone was asked to comment on Ronaldo’s possible transfer to Atletico. The Argentine clarified that he had never had a chat with the Portuguese about a possible transfer and subsequently ruled out a move for him. Simeone said (via Fabrizio Romano):

"I never talked to Cristiano Ronaldo to come here, never. Just like I don't see myself training Real Madrid, I don't see Cristiano at Atletico Madrid either".

Before leaving for Juventus in 2018, Cristiano Ronaldo spent nine trophy-laden years plying his trade at Real Madrid. He played 438 games for Los Blancos in that stretch across competitions, scoring a mammoth 450 goals. Ronaldo won four Champions League titles and two La Ligas with the Whites, amongst other honors.

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Manchester United forward Cristiano Ronaldo slumps to his worst Ballon d’Or ranking in 17 years

France Football presented Real Madrid skipper Karim Benzema with the Ballon d’Or award in Paris on Monday, October 17. Bayern Munich (formerly Liverpool) forward Sadio Mane and Manchester City’s Kevin de Bruyne rounded off the top three spots of this year’s rankings.

It marked the first time in 16 years that neither Lionel Messi nor Cristiano Ronaldo managed to secure a top-three finish. While Messi did not make the cut for the 30-man shortlist (for the first time since 2005), Manchester United’s Ronaldo finished 20th in the Ballon d’Or race. It marked his lowest Ballon d’Or ranking in 17 years.

Ronaldo featured in 38 games across competitions for the Red Devils last season, scoring 24 times. He emerged as United’s leading goalscorer and the third-highest scorer in the English Premier League (18 goals from 30 games).