Transfer rumor roundup 6/16: Ronaldo wants out of Madrid
By Nick Pitner
Here’s a roundup of the latest news and transfer rumors surrounding which players could be joining new teams in the coming months.
Friday’s transfer news is headlined by a bombshell from Portuguese outlet A Bola, which reports Cristiano Ronaldo wants to leave Real Madrid amid accusations of tax evasion.
Earlier this week, the reigning Ballon D’or winner was claimed to owe €14.7 million for image rights earned from 2011 to 2014.
While Ronaldo’s representation agency has since denied any tax evasion, the player has reportedly told Real Madrid that he believes Spanish authorities are trying to make an example of him and that he wishes to leave the country to play elsewhere.
ESPN further documents this sentiment by relaying reports from Marca and the BBC, which both detail Ronaldo’s disappointment with the situation and how he’s being portrayed.
Not only that, but he feels Real Madrid haven’t done enough to support him since the accusations.
Overall, it remains to be seen whether Ronaldo will indeed depart the back-to-back Champions League winners, but he’d surely garner a mountain of interest if made available.
In other landscape-shifting news, AC Milan, who’ve arguably enjoyed the best start to the summer transfer window, have been dealt a catastrophic blow, as Gianluca Di Marzio reports goalkeeper Gianluigi Donnarumma has rejected a contract extension with the club.
That means the 18-year-old phenom will be available for a free transfer next summer, should Milan retain him for the upcoming campaign.
With super-agent Mino Raiola advising him, Donnarumma was reportedly offered a contract of €4 million per year, which would’ve made him Milan’s highest-earning player upon signing his first professional deal.
According to ESPN, Milan sought an answer regarding their proposal by Tuesday, but when they didn’t receive one from Donnarumma’s representatives, they opted to call the youngster directly.
With Donnarumma on international duty with the Italian Under-21 team in Poland, Raiola was apparently infuriated by Milan bypassing him to contact his client, which prompted to a succinct meeting Thursday to reject the Rossoneri’s terms.
Now, the boy widely dubbed as the world’s best young goalkeeper is set to hit the market and choose where he’ll develop into his prime.
Next: Confederations Cup 2017: 5 bold predictions
In light of that news, Marca reports Raiola has already offered Donnarumma to Real Madrid, which would seemingly allow los Blancos to call off their long-documented pursuit of David de Gea.
However, along with Real Madrid, L’Equipe reports Raiola has also shopped his client to Paris Saint-Germain, who are known to be keen to improve on their current goalkeeping options of Kevin Trapp and Alphonse Areola.
According to ESPN, new PSG sporting director Antero Henrique not only has Donnarumma in his sights, but he’s also determined that the club will no longer attempt to sign Borussia Dortmund’s Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang.
The Gabon international has been heavily linked with a move to Paris, with some reports even stating he’s already purchased real estate there, but apparently Henrique has deemed the striker’s quoted €85 million transfer fee to be excessive.
In addition to that hefty investment, it’s said that Aubameyang is seeking a salary of at least €10 million, which, given the presence of Edinson Cavani, would be quite the price to pay for an alternative center-forward.
With Aubameyang out of the mix, it’s thought that PSG will now reignite their efforts to sign Arsenal’s Alexis Sanchez, whose current contract is set to expire next year, potentially opening him up for a relative bargain this summer.