We’re in the off-season for club competition, so you know what that means? It is indeed the summer silly season, i.e. time to talk some transfer rumors, and we pick right up on the latest narratives surrounding Cristiano Ronaldo. CR7 remains determined to leave the club, as he refuses to join up with the rest of the squad on their preseason tour.
Citing “family reasons,” he’s been totally AWOL, but his agent can’t seem to find a destination for him. Paris Saint-Germain? No, not gonna happen. Bayern Munich? Nope, front office publicly ruled him out. Chelsea? Definitely not as the manager publicly ruled him out.
Cristiano Ronaldo has been dealt a fresh double blow in his plans to leave Manchester United this summer with both Atletico Madrid and Real Madrid ruling themselves out of a move.
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— Irish Daily Mirror (@IrishMirror) July 21, 2022
And now this- both Madrid teams are not interested (see tweet above). So it appears Ronaldo has no choice but to stay and see out the second and final year of his deal. Apparently, manager Erik ten Hag was right when he said that the Portugese magnifico was staying put this term. Why doesn’t anyone want a 37-year-old G.O.A.T.?
He led the team in scoring last season and saved them from an even worse campaign. Well, maybe all that hearsay and conjecture about how he is in the locker room is actually true?
Maybe he is too much of a diva to be a team player? Who knows, but this current hold-out is certainly adding fuel to that fire.
Plus, there are only a handful of places that Ronaldo can actually go, as very few clubs can afford him.
Speaking of forwards that many people believe have an attitude problem, Jesse Lingard has FINALLY found his new club- and it’s Nottingham Forest.
After having been linked with a move back to West Ham, Newcastle, MLS and some clubs in Serie A, he’s officially off on his Bosman transfer to the newly promoted club.
“Everyone at Nottingham Forest is delighted to welcome Jesse to the club and we look forward to seeing him pull on the Garibaldi shirt at the World Famous City Ground,” reads the club statement.
Forest did not specify the length of his contract but Sky Sports reported he had signed a year-long deal.
Welcome to Nottingham Forest, @JesseLingard ??
— Nottingham Forest FC (@NFFC) July 21, 2022
For our third and final item, we again circle back to another once high-flying forward that seems to rub a lot of people in high places the wrong way- Anthony Martial. It appears any away t his summer has now been ruled out.
As we had reported earlier, United just didn’t really have any truly interested takers to make moving Martial worthwhile. Here’s more on the Frenchman’s being set to stay put, via ESPN.
Credit him for looking really good thus far in the preseason though. He’s got three goals in the first three games.
Paul M. Banks is the owner/manager of The Bank (TheSportsBank.Net) and author of “Transatlantic Passage: How the English Premier League Redefined Soccer in America,” as well as “No, I Can’t Get You Free Tickets: Lessons Learned From a Life in the Sports Media Industry.”
He has regularly appeared in WGN, Sports Illustrated and the Chicago Tribune, and he co-hosts the After Extra Time podcast, part of Edge of the Crowd Network. Follow him and the website on Twitter and Instagram.