Well, I don´t believe it until I see it. But a few years ago we got rejected by that scrub Di Natale. Being rejected by Ronaldo is where it´s at. We´ve come a long way, boys 
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Summer Mercato Thread 2018 (30 Viewers)
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Cristiano Ronaldo swapping Real Madrid for Juventus? Not so fast
Gabriele Marcotti, Senior Writer, ESPN FC
Cristiano Ronaldo flew home from Russia and the World Cup on Monday, but he didn't stay out of the headlines for long, as evidenced by the massive headlines on Tuesday linking him with a move to Juventus.
As with all things involving Cristiano and Real Madrid, nothing is quite straightforward. Here's an attempt to make sense of it.
Q: So Juventus have made an offer, have they?
A: Easy there. Juventus haven't confirmed anything and it's worth noting who pushed this story initially: Marca, the Madrid-based paper close to Real Madrid, and A Bola, the Portuguese daily.
Q: Why is that relevant?
A: Well they come out at the same time with the same story, and Ronaldo happens to be Portuguese. So is his agent, Jorge Mendes. Who also happens to look after (together with Carlos Bucero) the new Real boss, Julen Lopetegui. They may or may not be the source of the story but it's pretty obvious that the story serves their interests. It serves Real Madrid's interests too...
Q: How so?
A: For a start, it's always nice to be wanted if you're Ronaldo and to have your prize asset coveted by others if you're Madrid. Beyond that, both Mendes and Madrid benefit, each in different ways. Ronaldo, you'll recall, talked about moving on from the Bernabeu, just minutes after the Champions League final, despite the fact that he has a contract through 2021. It may be that he really wants to go or, more likely, that he'd like a new deal. Especially given that both Neymar and Lionel Messi earn substantially more than he does.
Or, and I think this is just as important to him, a clear sense of what the future holds of him at Real Madrid. There's a new manager, there's likely going to be a rebuild, folks coming and going... where does he fit? An offer on the table -- whether real or not -- gives him some leverage.
Cristiano Ronaldo's future: the latest
- How the biggest teams could make a play for Ronaldo
- Juventus make an offer?
- Honigstein: Real are testing the waters with Ronaldo
- Matuidi: Having Ronaldo would be great
- Ronaldo to Juventus rumors light up Euro papers
- Ronaldo: Now is not the time to talk about my future
Q: But I thought Real Madrid had offered him a salary bump?
A: That's what was reported, and it amounted to a raise of nearly 50 percent plus bonuses that could take him beyond Neymar. But like I said, I don't think it's just about money with Ronaldo.
Q: You said it benefits Madrid too? How so?
A: Ronaldo is a freak of nature who had another monster season. But they're on the hook for him until June 2021, when he'll be 36 years old. This is already a veteran squad and the last thing you want is a situation where everybody gets old all of a sudden. They haven't made a Galactico-type signing since Gareth Bale and that was five years ago.
If you bring in another superstar, they're going to want assurances about where they stand vis-a-vis Ronaldo. And then there is the financial aspect. It's purely a numbers game but there's obviously a price at which you would let him go.
Obviously Florentino Perez doesn't want to be remembered as the Real Madrid president who sold Ronaldo but if he himself wants to go and the price is right, I don't think he'd mind. At all. And in that respect, it's probably not coincidental that in addition to Ronaldo's official release clause of a €1 billion ($1.1bn), there's talk of a private agreement between Florentino and Mendes whereby he could go for €100 million ($110m). That's obviously a far more realistic price and, like I said, if Ronaldo wants to leave, then Florentino could argue there was nothing he could do about it... which, funnily enough, is exactly what Juventus supposedly offered. Win-win.
The other big benefit to Mendes and Real Madrid is that it effectively sets a price (at least psychologically) in the eyes of potential suitors, and it sends the message that both Ronaldo and the club are willing to entertain offers. There's a very limited number of clubs who could afford him so you can read this as a wake-up call to them.
Q: You said it's been a while since Real Madrid signed a Galactico. I've seen them linked to Neymar and Kylian Mbappe...
A: Yeah, this happens time and again though PSG insist neither is going anywhere. But there are two things that could change that. One is a mega-offer of the sort Real Madrid used to put together. I'd imagine they'd need to sell a prize asset to get it done, whether it's Ronaldo or maybe Bale.
The other is Financial Fair Play...
Q: Oh, that again. I thought PSG were cleared?
A: This is where it gets complicated, so bear with me. They were cleared for the three years leading up to June 30, 2017, which is before the Mbappe/Neymar deals. The following three-year period, where those deals kicked in, have yet to be reviewed and on top of that, the "green light" they got for the original three-year period is now under review, with the head of UEFA's Club Financial Control Body asking the Adjudicatory Chamber to take a look at it.
So it's sort of double jeopardy there. If UEFA crack down, they may have to sell one of them but we're in the realm of hypotheticals.
Q: Back to Juventus. You don't believe their interest is real?
A: I'm sure Juve would love to have him and it's entirely plausible that he was discussed when Beppe Marotta met Jorge Mendes a few weeks ago to sign another Mendes client, Joao Cancelo. But the numbers have to work and I'm not sure those numbers do.
Per season, €30m net works out at €60m ($68m) gross. That's around forty percent of Juve's current wage bill. Then you'd need to amortize the fee over the duration of his contract plus, given his age, there would be very little resale value.
Therefore, Juve would need to shed a number of players (not just Gonzalo Higuain) and increase their revenues substantially to manage it without falling foul of Financial Fair Play. They already sell out their stadium regularly and can't really squeeze more out of the box office. Serie A rights for the next three seasons have already been sold, too, while their Champions League income is already almost fully maxed out.
The only area where they could grow significantly in revenue is commercially. Ronaldo would help that, sure, but could his presence alone bring them another $80m+ (wages + amortized fee) per season? I'm not sure.
I'm also not sure how Max Allegri, who is only Juve's coach, feels about this. Like I said, at the right price they'd jump all over him but he would have to be the one to want to leave. And it has to be the right price.
Q: Are there other clubs who can afford him?
A: Yes, but then you'd need to look at clubs who can both afford him and might plausibly want him to the point that they tie themselves up for another three-plus years. And that's not a long list. In fact, it's basically Manchester United and thus far, we haven't heard anything. Though, of course, given that Mendes happens to represent both Ronaldo and the United manager, if they were to push for it they could make it work.
Q: So what's going to happen?
A: It's purely a guess, but I think the most likely scenario is Ronaldo gets a raise (and maybe some assurances from Lopetegui) and stays at Madrid. They sell Karim Benzema and, if they can, Gareth Bale, and they make a serious run at Neymar and Mbappe. Whether they succeed with either will depend on FFP as much as it does on PSG.
What I don't see happening, frankly, is Real Madrid losing Ronaldo without signing a Neymar, an Mbappe or someone of that caliber.
Stay tuned.
http://global.espn.com/football/clu...swapping-real-madrid-for-juventus-not-so-fast
Gabriele Marcotti, Senior Writer, ESPN FC
Cristiano Ronaldo flew home from Russia and the World Cup on Monday, but he didn't stay out of the headlines for long, as evidenced by the massive headlines on Tuesday linking him with a move to Juventus.
As with all things involving Cristiano and Real Madrid, nothing is quite straightforward. Here's an attempt to make sense of it.
Q: So Juventus have made an offer, have they?
A: Easy there. Juventus haven't confirmed anything and it's worth noting who pushed this story initially: Marca, the Madrid-based paper close to Real Madrid, and A Bola, the Portuguese daily.
Q: Why is that relevant?
A: Well they come out at the same time with the same story, and Ronaldo happens to be Portuguese. So is his agent, Jorge Mendes. Who also happens to look after (together with Carlos Bucero) the new Real boss, Julen Lopetegui. They may or may not be the source of the story but it's pretty obvious that the story serves their interests. It serves Real Madrid's interests too...
Q: How so?
A: For a start, it's always nice to be wanted if you're Ronaldo and to have your prize asset coveted by others if you're Madrid. Beyond that, both Mendes and Madrid benefit, each in different ways. Ronaldo, you'll recall, talked about moving on from the Bernabeu, just minutes after the Champions League final, despite the fact that he has a contract through 2021. It may be that he really wants to go or, more likely, that he'd like a new deal. Especially given that both Neymar and Lionel Messi earn substantially more than he does.
Or, and I think this is just as important to him, a clear sense of what the future holds of him at Real Madrid. There's a new manager, there's likely going to be a rebuild, folks coming and going... where does he fit? An offer on the table -- whether real or not -- gives him some leverage.
Cristiano Ronaldo's future: the latest
- How the biggest teams could make a play for Ronaldo
- Juventus make an offer?
- Honigstein: Real are testing the waters with Ronaldo
- Matuidi: Having Ronaldo would be great
- Ronaldo to Juventus rumors light up Euro papers
- Ronaldo: Now is not the time to talk about my future
Q: But I thought Real Madrid had offered him a salary bump?
A: That's what was reported, and it amounted to a raise of nearly 50 percent plus bonuses that could take him beyond Neymar. But like I said, I don't think it's just about money with Ronaldo.
Q: You said it benefits Madrid too? How so?
A: Ronaldo is a freak of nature who had another monster season. But they're on the hook for him until June 2021, when he'll be 36 years old. This is already a veteran squad and the last thing you want is a situation where everybody gets old all of a sudden. They haven't made a Galactico-type signing since Gareth Bale and that was five years ago.
If you bring in another superstar, they're going to want assurances about where they stand vis-a-vis Ronaldo. And then there is the financial aspect. It's purely a numbers game but there's obviously a price at which you would let him go.
Obviously Florentino Perez doesn't want to be remembered as the Real Madrid president who sold Ronaldo but if he himself wants to go and the price is right, I don't think he'd mind. At all. And in that respect, it's probably not coincidental that in addition to Ronaldo's official release clause of a €1 billion ($1.1bn), there's talk of a private agreement between Florentino and Mendes whereby he could go for €100 million ($110m). That's obviously a far more realistic price and, like I said, if Ronaldo wants to leave, then Florentino could argue there was nothing he could do about it... which, funnily enough, is exactly what Juventus supposedly offered. Win-win.
The other big benefit to Mendes and Real Madrid is that it effectively sets a price (at least psychologically) in the eyes of potential suitors, and it sends the message that both Ronaldo and the club are willing to entertain offers. There's a very limited number of clubs who could afford him so you can read this as a wake-up call to them.
Q: You said it's been a while since Real Madrid signed a Galactico. I've seen them linked to Neymar and Kylian Mbappe...
A: Yeah, this happens time and again though PSG insist neither is going anywhere. But there are two things that could change that. One is a mega-offer of the sort Real Madrid used to put together. I'd imagine they'd need to sell a prize asset to get it done, whether it's Ronaldo or maybe Bale.
The other is Financial Fair Play...
Q: Oh, that again. I thought PSG were cleared?
A: This is where it gets complicated, so bear with me. They were cleared for the three years leading up to June 30, 2017, which is before the Mbappe/Neymar deals. The following three-year period, where those deals kicked in, have yet to be reviewed and on top of that, the "green light" they got for the original three-year period is now under review, with the head of UEFA's Club Financial Control Body asking the Adjudicatory Chamber to take a look at it.
So it's sort of double jeopardy there. If UEFA crack down, they may have to sell one of them but we're in the realm of hypotheticals.
Q: Back to Juventus. You don't believe their interest is real?
A: I'm sure Juve would love to have him and it's entirely plausible that he was discussed when Beppe Marotta met Jorge Mendes a few weeks ago to sign another Mendes client, Joao Cancelo. But the numbers have to work and I'm not sure those numbers do.
Per season, €30m net works out at €60m ($68m) gross. That's around forty percent of Juve's current wage bill. Then you'd need to amortize the fee over the duration of his contract plus, given his age, there would be very little resale value.
Therefore, Juve would need to shed a number of players (not just Gonzalo Higuain) and increase their revenues substantially to manage it without falling foul of Financial Fair Play. They already sell out their stadium regularly and can't really squeeze more out of the box office. Serie A rights for the next three seasons have already been sold, too, while their Champions League income is already almost fully maxed out.
The only area where they could grow significantly in revenue is commercially. Ronaldo would help that, sure, but could his presence alone bring them another $80m+ (wages + amortized fee) per season? I'm not sure.
I'm also not sure how Max Allegri, who is only Juve's coach, feels about this. Like I said, at the right price they'd jump all over him but he would have to be the one to want to leave. And it has to be the right price.
Q: Are there other clubs who can afford him?
A: Yes, but then you'd need to look at clubs who can both afford him and might plausibly want him to the point that they tie themselves up for another three-plus years. And that's not a long list. In fact, it's basically Manchester United and thus far, we haven't heard anything. Though, of course, given that Mendes happens to represent both Ronaldo and the United manager, if they were to push for it they could make it work.
Q: So what's going to happen?
A: It's purely a guess, but I think the most likely scenario is Ronaldo gets a raise (and maybe some assurances from Lopetegui) and stays at Madrid. They sell Karim Benzema and, if they can, Gareth Bale, and they make a serious run at Neymar and Mbappe. Whether they succeed with either will depend on FFP as much as it does on PSG.
What I don't see happening, frankly, is Real Madrid losing Ronaldo without signing a Neymar, an Mbappe or someone of that caliber.
Stay tuned.
http://global.espn.com/football/clu...swapping-real-madrid-for-juventus-not-so-fast
To long didn't read
A: I'm sure Juve would love to have him and it's entirely plausible that he was discussed when Beppe Marotta met Jorge Mendes a few weeks ago to sign another Mendes client, Joao Cancelo. But the numbers have to work and I'm not sure those numbers do.
Per season, €30m net works out at €60m ($68m) gross. That's around forty percent of Juve's current wage bill. Then you'd need to amortize the fee over the duration of his contract plus, given his age, there would be very little resale value.
Therefore, Juve would need to shed a number of players (not just Gonzalo Higuain) and increase their revenues substantially to manage it without falling foul of Financial Fair Play. They already sell out their stadium regularly and can't really squeeze more out of the box office. Serie A rights for the next three seasons have already been sold, too, while their Champions League income is already almost fully maxed out.
The only area where they could grow significantly in revenue is commercially. Ronaldo would help that, sure, but could his presence alone bring them another $80m+ (wages + amortized fee) per season? I'm not sure.
I'm also not sure how Max Allegri, who is only Juve's coach, feels about this. Like I said, at the right price they'd jump all over him but he would have to be the one to want to leave. And it has to be the right price.
Thats all you need to take from it.
Im not sure this is going to happen
Marca claim Cristiano Ronaldo decided to leave Real Madrid after they put an “insulting” €100m price-tag on him and Juventus can now take advantage.
There are now so many sources reporting the idea of a transfer to Turin that it is difficult to argue otherwise, although that doesn’t necessarily mean it will go through.
According to tomorrow’s edition of Spanish paper Marca, Ronaldo made up his mind to quit Real Madrid in January.
That is when the famous 'release clause’ – in fact a gentlemen’s agreement rather than a legal document – was introduced.
It stated that the Merengues would let CR7 go for €100m as long as it wasn’t to a direct rival, for example Barcelona or Paris Saint-Germain.
At the time, they were presumably thinking of a club in China or the United States and not another European side.
As it happened just months after PSG activated the €222m release clause in his Barcelona contract, Ronaldo felt “insulted” to be worth just €100m.
It was also effectively an "invitation to leave" and a suggestion he might want to see out his autumn years elsewhere, even though he only turned 33 in February.
With this in mind, he decided then and there to walk away come the end of the season, as he no longer felt appreciated at the Bernabeu.
This would explain his comments straight after the Champions League Final: “It has been wonderful playing for Real Madrid.”
Now Juventus can take full advantage of that same €100m agreement that is pushing Ronaldo away from Madrid.
The other turning point was the overhead kick stunner he scored at the Juventus Stadium in the Champions League, as he received a standing ovation from the home fans.
He felt genuinely appreciated and admired their sportsmanship, claims Marca.
- - - Updated - - -
There are now so many sources reporting the idea of a transfer to Turin that it is difficult to argue otherwise, although that doesn’t necessarily mean it will go through.
According to tomorrow’s edition of Spanish paper Marca, Ronaldo made up his mind to quit Real Madrid in January.
That is when the famous 'release clause’ – in fact a gentlemen’s agreement rather than a legal document – was introduced.
It stated that the Merengues would let CR7 go for €100m as long as it wasn’t to a direct rival, for example Barcelona or Paris Saint-Germain.
At the time, they were presumably thinking of a club in China or the United States and not another European side.
As it happened just months after PSG activated the €222m release clause in his Barcelona contract, Ronaldo felt “insulted” to be worth just €100m.
It was also effectively an "invitation to leave" and a suggestion he might want to see out his autumn years elsewhere, even though he only turned 33 in February.
With this in mind, he decided then and there to walk away come the end of the season, as he no longer felt appreciated at the Bernabeu.
This would explain his comments straight after the Champions League Final: “It has been wonderful playing for Real Madrid.”
Now Juventus can take full advantage of that same €100m agreement that is pushing Ronaldo away from Madrid.
The other turning point was the overhead kick stunner he scored at the Juventus Stadium in the Champions League, as he received a standing ovation from the home fans.
He felt genuinely appreciated and admired their sportsmanship, claims Marca.
- - - Updated - - -
Ronaldo now or never
CR7-Juve, Spanish media increasingly confused and unsure
Florentino-Mendes summit, awaiting news
Yesterday Juve share trading closed with a record +7.27%
Operation CR7
Juve boom
Fans unstoppable, shares climb 7.27%, the Portuguese phenomenon determined to set new records both on and off the field
The temperature rises for a deal that is reaching the decisive phase
Agent Jorge Mendes called in urgently by Florentino Perez
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