Why I rejected Cristiano Ronaldo move to Chelsea – Tuchel finally reveals one big reason
According to Metro, Thomas Tuchel suggested that Chelsea may have evaluated the potential to sign Cristiano Ronaldo but decided against it because they did not want to divert their attention from Raheem Sterling, who was their top priority this summer.
Sterling joined earlier this month from Manchester City. The Englishman has already begun training with his new teammates and might play in tomorrow’s match against Club America.
Cristiano Ronaldo, who is a free agent after leaving Manchester United, was not pursued by Chelsea, and they are very unlikely to do so for the remainder of the summer. According to reports, the 37-year-old is willing to leave United if it means getting to play in the Champions League. The Portuguese had begun to consider Chelsea, but to no avail.
This is in spite of reports that Todd Boehly, the owner of Chelsea, had a meeting with Jorge Mendes, Ronaldo’s agent, earlier in the summer. However, following discussions between Boehly and Tuchel, they resisted the urge to make an offer for the five-time Ballon d’Or winner.
“If we considered his name… well he’s a fantastic player he is a fantastic player for another fantastic club in our competition in the Premier League. Out of respect we don’t comment on these players because we don’t like other coaches to speak about our players. This is where this has to stay. We focused on our top target Raheem Sterling who we signed and everything else stays behind closed doors.”
Ronaldo would have been a great addition to the Chelsea team, there is no doubt about that. Chelsea could have used a reliable goal scorer after Romelu Lukaku’s underwhelming return to Stamford Bridge and other Chelsea attackers’ inability to consistently score.
Ronaldo would have provided a temporary fix for the issue, so it seems like a wise choice. Given his advanced age, Chelsea would have benefited only for a few seasons, despite the fact that he is not slowing down. Additionally, Tuchel’s lack of pushing owing to his advanced age would simply force him to adjust his strategy to match the Portuguese.
Tuchel may anticipate some additional goals next season with the addition of Sterling.
On loan last year, Armando Broja demonstrated promise, and it appears that Tuchel might give him a shot this year. It’s anticipated that Kai Havertz and Mason Mount will continue to score sometimes.