Florentino Perez reveals the truth about Cristiano Ronaldo rumors

Real Madrid, Cristiano Ronaldo (Photo by Quality Sport Images/Getty Images)
Real Madrid, Cristiano Ronaldo (Photo by Quality Sport Images/Getty Images)

Real Madrid president Florentino Perez appeared on El Chiringuito on Monday night for the first – and, in his words, potentially only time – to discuss the formation of the European Super League, which is his brain child.

Perez spun and sold the public on this new idea, discussing the impact of the pandemic on his club and other big clubs, while trying to convince fans that smaller clubs won’t be damaged by this new league.

He also spoke about transfer rumors when asked by the presenters. First, he gave a non-answer about Kylian Mbappe. Meaning he did not deny anything regarding the PSG forward. He did, however, sing a different tune about the rumors of a Cristiano Ronaldo rumor, which surfaced several weeks ago after Juventus were knocked out of the Champions League Round of 16.

Perez said that Real Madrid signing Ronaldo is “impossible”, citing that he is currently under contract with Juve, who would be one of the key clubs in this new “Super League” venture. He added that while he would “love” to have Ronaldo back in Madrid, a reunion just would not “make sense”.

Cristiano Ronaldo is currently Serie A’s leading goal-scorer with 25 goals, one season after narrowly missing out on the award to Lazio’s Ciro Immobile. Ronaldo remains one of the world’s best attacking players despite being 36, and there has been speculation surrounding his future due to Juve’s struggles.

One of the selling points was Juve’s lack of success in Serie A and even the possibility of them tumbling outside the top four. Ronaldo in the Europa League is, obviously, unthinkable.

But now that Perez, Andrea Agnelli, and the rest of Europe’s elite club leaders are forging ahead with a European Super League, the worries about a lack of Champions League football are moot. Ronaldo would play in their knockout competition, should Juve qualify. (And should this league happen after all.)

There is also the matter of Ronaldo being under contract. There will, presumably, be no “poaching” of talent within the league, particularly not to start with. Real Madrid would have to respect Ronaldo’s contract with Juve, and Ronaldo would probably be less inclined to move in the final year of his contract and first year of this new league.

So there you have it, Madridistas. If you still had hope that Real would reunite with their biggest superstar in club history, it isn’t happening. But maybe Mbappe will still be a possibility despite all the signs against it with this new league coming into being. Perez didn’t rule him out, just Ronaldo.