“Ronaldo deal is not for us” - Club president dismisses transfer rumors as ‘fake news’ 

Olympique Marseille president Pablo Longoria has denied reports linking the club with Manchester United striker Cristiano Ronaldo.

Bild claimed that the Ligue 1 outfit had made contact with the forward's representatives over the possibility of a transfer this summer.

Ronaldo is keen to leave Old Trafford this summer in search of Champions League football (via The Times). He also appears to not be in Erik ten Hag's plans as he was benched for the Red Devils' recent victory over Liverpool.

However, while at the Champions League group stage draw, Longoria was asked about Marseille's apparent pursuit of the Portuguese ace. However, he claimed that the former Real Madrid and Juventus man would not be a suitable player for the French giants.

Transfer expert Fabrizio Romano quoted Longoria as saying:

“It’s the social media world full of fake news. We want reality. Ronaldo deal is not for us. It’d be like saying that De Bruyne or Haaland are OM targets… let’s focus on our real project."

The five-time Ballon d'Or winner netted 24 times in 38 appearances last term in all competitions and was the club's highest goalscorer. However, there are doubts whether he can play in Ten Hag's high-pressing system.

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Rio Ferdinand believes Cristiano Ronaldo deliberately snubbed Jamie Carragher

Manchester United beat Liverpool 2-1 at Old Trafford on Monday, August 22. Before the match, the iconic attacker went over to two of his former teammates Gary Neville and Roy Keane, who were doing punditry work for the clash.

While he was more than happy to chat with his former colleagues, he gave a notable cold shoulder to Liverpool legend Jamie Carragher.

The former defender has been vocally critical of the striker in recent times and Ferdinand believes the snub was no accident. He told Vibe with Five (as per The Sun):

"Knowing Cristiano Ronaldo, Jamie Carragher's been very vocal about Ronaldo being the problem and stuff like that. Trust me, Cristiano would've seen those comments and would've been thinking walking over there I'll just let this guy know with a little… he needs to kind of calm him down, humiliate him and show him up, whatever way you want to dress it up live on TV."

He added:

"Cristiano is very calculated, he's very aware of what's going on, he's not somebody who sits at home and switches off. I've always said this, he uses social media and people's comments as fuel to drive him on to be the best he's done that since he was a young kid."