Napoli boss Spalletti unsure on Ronaldo and Osimhen swap
Karan Tejwani
- 27 Aug 2022 18:40 BST
- 3 min read
Rumours of a potential swap deal between Manchester United and Napoli for Cristiano Ronaldo and Victor Osimhen have gathered pace in recent days, with the Portuguese still keen to leave the club.
Ronaldo wishes to play at a club where he can enjoy Champions League football in the final years of his career, and will miss out this season if he remains at Manchester United.
Several other clubs have rejected the chance to sign Ronaldo this summer, citing his age, high financial cost or tactical fit as their reasoning.
Napoli are one of the few remaining candidates, but even then, a deal may be difficult to pull off due to the complications involved in it.
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Spalletti speaks on situation
One proposal suggested is a swap involving Ronaldo and Osimhen, with the Nigerian forward open to moving to Old Trafford this summer.
Jorge Mendes, Ronaldo’s agent, is working to facilitate such an operation, but it looks difficult due to the finances involved and the time left in the transfer window.
Napoli manager Luciano Spalletti has also spoken about the possibility of such a transfer, saying that he would like to work with Ronaldo but knows the deal is difficult to pull off.
“I’d love to work with Cristiano Ronaldo, of course, but there are no talks. Aurelio De Laurentiis [Napoli president] told me that he has not received anything,” Spalletti said
He continued: “I think it’s difficult [a swap deal involving Ronaldo and Osimhen swap deal] but you should ask our director Cristiano Giuntoli.”
Napoli have opened up to letting Victor Osimhen leave in exchange of €100m plus Cristiano Ronaldo's loan, reports @DiMarzio. They want Manchester United to cover a good part of Ronaldo's wage.
— Get Italian Football News (@_GIFN) August 26, 2022
Ronaldo has been relegated to the bench for Manchester United in the last two games, which his side won 2-1 and 1-0 over Liverpool and Southampton respectively.
There is a feeling that Ten Hag doesn’t appreciate Ronaldo’s lacking of pressing tendencies, hence his reason for keeping him out of the team at the start of the season.
Should Ronaldo remain at Manchester United, it will mark his first time in the Europa League since playing for Sporting as a teenager.
