Reports in the UK suggest that Napoli are once again interested in Cristiano Ronaldo, but Lorenzo Bettoni believes the Partenopei should stay away from the Portuguese star in January.
Luciano Spalletti’s men have had a stunning start to the season. They are the only unbeaten team in Serie A, having collected nine wins and two draws thus far. They have also advanced to the Champions League Round of 16 with two games to spare, having won all their matches against Liverpool, Rangers and Ajax (twice).
The Partenopei have been outstanding on all fronts, but their attacking production has been beyond impressive. No Serie A team is more prolific than the Azzurri, thanks to their 26 goals in 11 matches.
They also scored 17 goals in four Champions League games, more than any other team in Europe’s elite competition.
They achieved this despite being without their leading striker Victor Osimhen for over a month. The Nigeria international has scored five goals in nine games so far, missing six matches due to a muscle injury.
New signings Giacomo Raspadori and Giovanni Simeone brilliantly replaced him, combining nine goals: five from the Italy international and four from the Argentinean.
Those figures alone explain why Napoli don’t need another striker in January, even if his name is Cristiano Ronaldo.
There are more reasons why the Partenopei should be nowhere near the Portugal international, who has proved not to be a team player at Juventus and Manchester United. The Red Devils boss Erik ten Hag has revealed that CR7 refused to be subbed on twice during the first three months in charge.
The last time was last week in a 2-0 win against Tottenham when the 36-year-old even left Old Trafford before the end of the match, something he had already done at Juventus.
Napoli seem to have found a perfect balance on and off the pitch, having even managed to cut costs following the departures of Kalidou Koulibaly, Fabin Ruiz, Lorenzo Insigne and David Ospina over the summer.
Despite his pedigree, Ronaldo would not be an added value to this Napoli side and would likely create more problems for the club and Luciano Spalletti, who would not be as free to rotate his strikers as he is now.
The Partenopei were linked with a move for the Portuguese talisman over the summer, with Ronaldo who could have joined the Azzurri in a swap deal involving Osimhen. The Serie A leaders would now be glad that negotiations didn’t progress and should not be tempted by offering CR7 an escape route from Old Trafford in January.
@lorebetto
They can’t afford him anyway. I agree with the article he wouldn’t be an added value but a liability. Leave him in Manchester where they wanted him in the first place.
“Why Napoli should not stay away from CR7″
We all know that the season is long and Napoli has shown in the past that in the end it was never enough for a championship title. Ronaldo could make the difference. He doesn’t want to lose and makes his teammates feel it. Either way it can go well but also not.
During the summer break, there was only grumbling about ADL. In the end, it turned out differently than many thought. Cheers
The only way Napoli should entertain this idea is a) he drops his wages significantly b) he accepts that he will be mostly a super sub c) any team rule misdemeanours and his contract is terminated without compensation.