Cristiano Ronaldo transfer news: Latest updates, rumors on Man United, Real Madrid & more

Simon Borg

Cristiano Ronaldo transfer news: Latest updates, rumors on Man United, Real Madrid & more image

Was Cristiano Ronaldo’s long Instagram post a goodbye to Italy and Juventus fans? It sure read like one.

Just one day after an unexpected benching in a must-win Serie A season finale sent the speculation about his future into overdrive, Ronaldo penned some lengthy reflections on his time and achievements in Italy, which give the distinct impression that he was putting a bow on his three seasons in Italy.

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Rumors have surfaced that Juventus might be looking to offload the 36-year-old’s contract this offseason to improve a club balance sheet that has suffered significant losses because of the COVID-19 pandemic. Reports indicate that Ronaldo’s contract pays him near $38 million per year.

What Ronaldo wrote

The rumors will only be fueled by the words in the Instagram post, in which he says he “reached a goal that I had set myself since the first day I arrived in Italy.”

“This year we couldn’t win Serie A, congratulations to Inter for the well deserved title. However, I have to value everything that we achieved this season at Juventus, both in collective and individual terms. The Italian Super Cup, the Italian Cup and the Serie A Top Scorer trophy fill me with happiness, mainly due to the difficulty they carry with them, in a country where nothing is easy to win.

 

“With these achievements, I reached a goal that I had set myself since the first day I arrived in Italy: to win the Championship, the Cup and the Super Cup, and also to be Best Player and Top Scorer in this great football country filled with tremendous players, giant clubs and a very own football culture.”

Juventus needed to win their final Serie A match against Bologna to earn an automatic berth into the lucrative UEFA Champions League next year. It made Ronaldo's benching all the more shocking, especially given that he finished as the top scorer in Italy this year with 29 goals.

They won the match without him and Juventus head coach Andrea Pirlo later explained that the benching was a coach's decision made together with Ronaldo, who communicated to him that he was tired after the midweek cup final. Given the competitive streak Ronaldo has shown throughout his career, the explanation was a head-scratcher.

Ronaldo's time at Juventus

Ronaldo was brought to Juventus on a four-year contract in the summer of 2018 with the goal of helping the club take the next step in Europe and win the Champions League. But Juventus never even reached a semifinal stage in his three seasons, stumbling once again in the Round of 16 in March. The Portuguese star took the brunt of the criticism.

He has since been linked with a potential return to three former clubs: Manchester United in England, Real Madrid in Spain and even Sporting Lisbon in Portugal. But his agent has already nixed a return to Portugal: “His career plans do not go through Portugal.”

Ronaldo is widely considered one of the greatest to ever play the sport and he will look to add to his legacy with Portugal's national team during the Euros this summer.

What happens after that competition is up in the air, especially given how he closed out his Instagram post:

“Nothing compares to the feeling of knowing that I’ve left my mark in the countries where I’ve played, and that I gave joy to the fans of the clubs I represented. This is what I work for, this is what moves me and this is what I’ll always keep chasing for until the last day.

 

“Thanks to everyone who took part in this journey! We stand together!”

Simon Borg

Simon Borg Photo

Simon Borg is a senior editor at The Sporting News who has covered football/soccer for over a decade. A supporter of Italian club Parma Calcio from his years growing up in Europe, he was previously a long-time member of Major League Soccer's digital media team, as a multimedia content producer, on-air personality, and Editor-in-Chief. Based in New York City, Borg is multilingual and has covered the domestic and global scene for TSN since 2021.