[스포츠조선 한동훈 기자] Manchester United star Cristiano Ronaldo has been confirmed to have boarded the Leicester tour bus. Accompanying him to the away match to be held on the last day of the transfer window, he was virtually confirmed to remain.
Sky Sports said on the 1st (Korean time), ‘Ronaldo was included in the squad against Leicester City in the 5th round. He was simultaneously spotted on a team bus heading to Leicester,’ he said in the breaking news.
The match between Manchester United and Leicester City in Round 5 of the Premier League for the 2022-2023 season will be held at 4 a.m. on the 2nd at King Power Stadium in Leicester, England. The summer transfer window closes at 7am. 11 p.m. local time. It can be speculated that a special negotiation table regarding the transfer of Ronaldo has not been unfolded.
British media ‘The Sun’ said, ‘The possibility of Ronaldo’s transfer seems to be getting lower now. He looks set to play against Leicester City. Chelsea, Bayern Munich, Napoli, Atlético Madrid and Sporting CP have all been linked with Ronaldo, but none of these clubs have made an official offer.”
Ronaldo’s stay was accepted as a fact from the end of August. This is because there were only rumors of a transfer, but there was no case of even negotiations between the clubs. Ronaldo made a lot of offers to several clubs through his agent, but all of them were rejected. There was also news that Ronaldo had turned to stay after Manchester United spent a fortune to sign world-class midfielder Casemiro and winger Antony.
The fact that the tour bus boarding was caught here puts a wedge in the transfer failure.
According to The Athletic, the only love call for Ronaldo was from Saudi Arabia’s Al Hilal. They are said to have offered a total of £211 million (about 330 billion won) over two years, which is more than four times the previous weekly wage. Ronaldo, who wants to play in the European Champions League, never went to the Middle East.
Now, attention is focused on whether Ronaldo will ‘return to the starting lineup’, not whether he will transfer. Manchester United manager Eric Tenhach prepared for Ronaldo’s departure. Ronaldo benched against Liverpool in the 3rd round and Southampton in the 4th round. Except for Ronaldo, he succeeded in winning two matches in a row. It is noteworthy what kind of choice Tenhach will make.
Reporter Dong-Hoon Han [email protected]