Cristiano Ronaldo left Juventus a year ago this weekend and very little has changed, as he is now trying to escape Manchester United and continue chasing his personal records elsewhere.
The 37-year-old has won the Ballon d’Or five times and over 30 major trophies during his career, but his main priority now would appear to be continuing the battle with age-old rival Lionel Messi for individual Champions League goal records.
Manchester United’s failure to qualify for that tournament, finishing outside the Premier League top four, would seem to be the catalyst for his push to leave Old Trafford just a year after his arrival.
It was August 27, 2021 that saw CR7 fly by private jet to Lisbon, where he had a medical and then completed the transfer to Manchester United.
Juve received a fee of circa €28m including various bonuses, but above all were glad to get his €30m per season salary off their books.
According to The Times, Ronaldo is also furious at a clause forcing all Manchester United players to cut their waves by 25 per cent as a result of not qualifying for the Champions League.
Having walked away from Juventus last summer, Ronaldo finds himself in an even trickier situation, as he is a year older, there are fewer and fewer clubs willing to pay his salary, even without a transfer fee.
Napoli have emerged as contenders, but it seems frankly unlikely they would be able to work out personal terms when the Partenopei famously have very complicated contracts demanding players sign over their image rights to the club.