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Barcelona president Joan Laporta has revealed that he met with Cristiano Ronaldo’s agent Jorge Mendes on Monday. Laporta remained tight-lipped about the meeting’s agenda, claiming that he only talked about the “market in general” with the super agent.
As per transfer expert Fabrizio Romano, Cristiano Ronaldo has asked Manchester United to let him leave this summer. Erik ten Hag’s side, however, do not wish to sell the 37-year-old this summer and expect him to honor his contract, which runs until June 2023.
He missed the Red Devils’ first training session of the season due to family reasons and failed to show up for the second session as well, citing the same cause.
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La Liga giants Barcelona are in the market for a potent goalscorer and should theoretically benefit from having Ronaldo in their ranks. Club president Laporta has fueled speculation, saying that he had dinner with the former Real Madrid man’s trusted agent Jorge Mendes on Monday, July 4.
Speaking at Franck Kessie’s unveiling on Wednesday, Laporta said (via Mundo Deportivo):
“I had dinner on Monday with Jorge Mendes and we talked about the market in general.”
On the topic of Ronaldo, the Barca president said:
“Cristiano? I'm not going to talk about the players who came out of the meeting, but it's always interesting to know how some names are on the market.”
The Portuguese maverick took part in 38 games for the Red Devils last season, recording 24 goals across competitions. He finished the campaign as the team’s leading scorer and the Premier League’s third-highest goal-getter (17), behind Heung-min Son and Mohamed Salah (both 23).
Cristiano Ronaldo might not be too keen to sign for former foes Barcelona
Cristiano Ronaldo enjoyed the best stretch of his career between 2009 and 2018, during his time with Barcelona’s El Clasico rivals Real Madrid. He scored 451 goals in 438 games for the Whites, becoming their all-time top-scorer and helping them to four Champions Leagues and two La Liga titles amongst other honors. For his exploits, he won four Ballons d’Or in that stretch.
Ronaldo was by far the most-booed Real Madrid player during his visits to Barcelona’s home stadium, the Camp Nou. He shushed the crowd time and again, asking them to calm down with his iconic “Calma” celebration.
Los Blancos fans still adore Ronaldo with all their heart, and a switch to the Catalonian capital would end their adoration for good. Cristiano Ronaldo is also heavily invested in the hotel business in Madrid and benefits from the goodwill he currently has with Los Blancos. It is perhaps ill-advised for him to lose it all over a transfer to Los Blancos’ arch-rivals.
