Cristiano Ronaldo handed sudden exit route as Man Utd transfer swap deal emerges
Cristiano Ronaldo is still certain to leave Manchester United in January, with Atletico Madrid striker Joao Felix's transfer demands making a swap deal plausible.
Manchester United has been linked with a deal for Atletico Madrid forward Joao Felix, with Cristiano Ronaldo potentially leaving the club.
Felix wants to leave the Spanish capital club as soon as possible, ideally during the January transfer window, after falling out of favor with manager Diego Simeone. He has only played 90 minutes this season and is no longer regarded as a significant player for Los Rojiblancos.
Ronaldo, 37, has been keen to leave United for the past four months after his high-profile comeback from Juventus did not go as planned last year. Despite scoring 24 goals in all competitions the previous season, United’s overall form plummeted, and they finished sixth in the Premier League.
Ronaldo stormed down the tunnel at Old Trafford following Manchester United’s emphatic two-goal victory against Tottenham, with manager Erik ten Hag benching the star for this weekend’s trip to Chelsea. It is now expected that he will leave Old Trafford next year, possibly as soon as the January transfer window opens.
Felix, the club’s record acquisition, is reportedly closer to leaving Atleti than ever before, with Diario AS reporting that United is one of three probable destinations for the 22-year-old, alongside Bayern Munich and Paris Saint-Germain.
Despite their fans’ protests this summer, Atletico Madrid surfaced as a surprise plausible destination for the striker.
It was widely assumed that Simeone would want the club to sign a player he has long liked. It would be similar to the club’s purchase of Luis Suarez, who signed from Barcelona in 2020 and led Simeone’s team to the league title in his inaugural season.
Simeone recently rebuffed ideas of signing Ronaldo, citing his history with Real Madrid, but this hasn’t stopped the club from signing former city rivals like Marcos Llorente and Sergio Reguilon in previous years. Despite his public views, it is thought that Simeone would be willing to ignore the club’s fans and sign Ronaldo if the opportunity arose.
Forward Felix, who joined Atleti in a £113 million trade from Benfica in 2019, has apparently fallen out with Simeone and could be on the move at the earliest chance. According to Portuguese media, Felix has been “bullied” by Simeone, and the problem reached a head when he was benched in both of Atleti’s recent Champions League matches against Club Brugge.
Moving either player in the midst of the season is fraught with complexities, but with both clubs open to some sort of swap deal and each player looking for greener pastures, the chance is growing.
