How come no one wants to sign Cristiano Ronaldo this summer? The 37-year-old striker, who has one season left on his two year deal with the club, just isn’t anywhere as highly valued as he fancies himself to be. Ronaldo, who has missed the entire preseason thus far amid his desire leave Manchester United, is finally back with the club, but only to try and negotiate his exit. He’s reportedly telling new manager Erik ten Hag that he still wants to play Champions League football this upcoming season.
The club maintain their stance: he’s not for sale and thus CR7 is expected to return to pre-season training.
Chelsea, Paris Saint-Germain, Bayern Munich and both Madrid clubs all said no to Ronaldo. Perhaps no one is saying “no” more emphatically than Atletico Madrid, with both a supporter group AND the Team President saying thanks, but no thanks.
“In light of the possibility of signing Cristiano Ronaldo, if it is more than a simple rumour without any basis, we express our absolute rejection of his hypothetical joining of our club,” Atletico’s International Union of Fan Clubs (Union Internacional de Peñas Atletico de Madrid) said in a statement.
“The aforementioned player represents the antithesis of the values that constitute the hallmarks of our Atleti, such as the effort, generosity, modesty and humility of those who want to defend our values.
“Even in the highly unlikely hypothetical case that a player in steep decline such as Cristiano Ronaldo could guarantee us a trophy, we wouldn’t accept his signing. The sense of being a part of our Atletico feeling isn’t within his reach, unfortunately for him, and as such he could never receive our affection or recognition.
“As such, we ask the club to reject his possible signing, if it has indeed been considered at any time.”
Kind of a harsh reaction there to something that is just a transfer rumor, right? It’s also worth noting that the club’s finances, and LaLiga’s squad spending limits, make this transfer almost certain not to happen.
That said, these supporters made a statement that raises a lot of great points. Ronaldo, currently staging a bitter holdout to serve his own interests, is now embodying all the pro athlete diva stereotypes.
What he’s doing right now is the opposite of generosity and humility.
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.