Cristiano Ronaldo is all set to leave Real Madrid for Paris St. Germain if reports from the French press are to be believed. The Portuguese star’s agent, Jorge Mendes, has reportedly reached a verbal agreement with the Parisian club, who are keen on replacing the departing Zlatan Ibrahimovic with a big name star.
According to a report in French publication Le Parisien, Cristiano Ronaldo has given first priority to Paris Saint-Germain if he leaves Real Madrid this season. The report alleges that PSG’s Qatari owner Nasser Al-Khelaifi has pulled off a coup by securing a verbal agreement with Jorge Mendes, Ronaldo’s agent, to give the Parisian club first refusal if the Portuguese star decides to move in the summer.
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The French club are set to lose out on star striker Zlatan Ibrahimovic, whose contract ends in the summer and has already made know that he is keen on undertaking a new challenge, having failed to garner European success with PSG. Al-Khelaifi is keen on a UEFA Champions League trophy to propel PSG to super-club status and has identified Ronaldo as the man to achieve that dream.
A deal with Real Madrid will represent a significant undertaking, given that Ronaldo’s contract expires in 2018, with Los Blancos unwilling to sell unless pushed to by Ronaldo.
Mendes played down Ronaldo-PSG rumours before
There is plenty of smoke around the rumours of PSG to Real Madrid, with reputed French magazine France Football reporting a few weeks back that the Portuguese star had taken a private jet to meet with Al-Khelaifi and discuss a move to Les Parisiens.
However, Mendes was forced to deny the rumours, claiming that ‘Cristiano and PSG is a non-story’.
The Madrid press responded to French claims by insisting that Ronaldo was instead rather keen on negotiating a contract extension with Real Madrid. El Confidencial claimed that Los Blancos had offered a deal which would mean that Ronaldo would retire at Real Madrid, having been offered a deal until 2020 or 2021, when he would be aged 35 or 36.
However, with Ronaldo apparently whispering in PSG coach Laurent Blanc’s ear after Madrid’s UEFA Champions League clash in October, “Your team plays very well. I would love to work with you”, there might be truth to the rumours that Al-Khelaifi has cleared away the competition in attempting to lure Ronaldo away from Real Madrid.
