Out of all the transfer rumours I’ve heard about Celtic in all my time writing about the club, this one has to be the most ridiculous one out there.
The Scottish Sun today tweeted an article about the possible destinations Portuguese superstar Ronaldo could head to if he is allowed to leave Manchester United in January:
Cristiano Ronaldo have five interesting transfer options open to him if he leaves Man Utd https://t.co/0TX6ZwdczU
— Scottish Sun Sport (@scotsunsport) October 4, 2022
In the report, teams like Sporting Lisbon, Wolves, Napoli and Bayern Munich are all named as viable clubs that could land Ronaldo. And then Celtic.
Yep. You read that right. This journalist believes Paradise is a possible destination for the five-time Champions League winner.
And what does the journalist base this opinion on? Sources? A conversation with representatives of the player?
No. Just this, “A leftfield shout – but why not the Scottish champions?
“Alan Brazil started the cheeky campaign for this move on talkSPORT by pointing out they can offer him Champions League football.
“And it is one of the European countries Ronaldo has not graced yet.”
He’s also not graced France, Holland or Belgium yet either so what’s his point?
No substance to the report. Just a ‘why not’ and a reference to a throw-away comment made by a radio pundit.
No in-depth analysis to argue a case for never mind what I am going to do and argue the case against.
Not that it’s an argument anyway.
Why not the Scottish champions?
Let me make the most obvious suggestion first. Money.
Ronaldo is on a reported £480,000 per week [SalarySport]. Even if he was to take a 90% pay cut we still couldn’t afford his wage.
People may say that advertisement alongside shirt sales would cover it and, no doubt it would, but it is still a helluva outlay for a 37-year-old.
Secondly, would he fit into Ange Postecoglou’s player profile?
The Aussie gaffer had made it clear he wants players that will fit into the culture of the dressing room. No superstars, just hard workers and the right attitude are as important to the Celtic boss than talent.
Big personalities are not what Ange is looking for.
And thirdly, aside from Champions League football, would Ronaldo fancy rocking up to Dingwall in a late February evening to take on Ross County or Aberdeen at Pittodrie on a freezing Saturday afternoon?
Please.
Let’s just stop this nonsense before it even starts.