Cristiano Ronaldo returned to Manchester United just last year after leaving the club in 2009 to join Real Madrid for a then-record transfer price, but he may go again this summer.
One year after signing a two-year agreement to return to the club, the attacker has requested the club to accept any reasonable offers that are made for him this summer.
Although a move away from Old Trafford has not yet been officially announced, Ronaldo’s agent Jorge Mendes has already met with Chelsea owner and acting sports director Todd Boehly. The super-agent has also made offers to Bayern Munich, Sporting CP, and Roma for Ronaldo’s services.
Chelsea currently has a wide range of offensive options, but with Romelu Lukaku returning to Inter Milan on loan, Timo Werner perhaps being used in a trade for Matthijs de Ligt of Juventus, and Armando Broja’s senior team spot uncertain, Kai Havertz could be the sole striker available in 2017/18.
The connections to Ronaldo would make sense if that were the case. He might replace the void left by Lukaku as seen by his 24 goals scored last season, which included one against Chelsea at Old Trafford.
Chelsea would be able to provide Ronaldo Champions League football, which is a luxury Man Utd does not presently have and is a major factor in the Portuguese legend’s desire to leave the team this summer.
Ronaldo joining Thomas Tuchel’s team may push the German head coach to change up his tried-and-true 3-4-3 lineup. It’s doubtful that Tuchel would choose to shift the rising star away from the centre, where Havertz has shown to be most successful.
Furthermore, Ronaldo would enter as just a central striker rather than the clever left-winger he once was, so Tuchel could need to design a system to accommodate both of them. Thus, a 3-4-1-2 form could be the most effective.
Behind a front-two of Havertz and Ronaldo, it may fit Mason Mount, Chelsea’s two-time consecutive “Player of the Season.”
Ben Chilwell and Reece James, two roving wingbacks, might provide width and help Chelsea find a natural goal scorer to remedy the issue.
XI for Chelsea including Cristiano Ronaldo
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