Jose Mourinho denies Manchester United interest in signing Cristiano Ronaldo

Manchester United manager Jose Mourinho has indicated that his side were never in the running to sign Cristiano Ronaldo after he decided to end his long-term association with Real Madrid. The Portuguese superstar was strongly linked with a return to Old Trafford after opting to pursue a fresh challenge from the Bernabeu but ultimately, Juventus were the club who acquired his services in a club-record deal.

Since then, there have been reports suggesting that Mourinho may have blocked the club’s attempt to sign the five-time Ballon d’Or but the Portuguese tactician has now clarified an offer for Ronaldo was never on the table. Speaking after United’s 2-0 league triumph over Burnley, the 55-year-old said:

“Juventus is one of the teams in Europe that invested to win the Champions League because they don’t need to invest to win the Scudetto. They win the Scudetto for six or seven years. The objective is clearly to win the Champions League, which they were close twice when they reached the final, so they are a top team in Europe that made one of the biggest spending – I think after Liverpool it must be them. Cristiano was never on my table to say ‘yes’ or ‘no’ to Cristiano to come to us. It was never on the table.”

Since joining the Bianconeri, Ronaldo has been entrusted with the centre-forward role but so far, he has not managed to find the scoresheet despite having more than 23 attempts on goal. Nonetheless, it could be remembered that the Portuguese started in a similar fashion during the previous campaign and it may only be a matter of time before he scores his maiden goal for the Turin giants.

Meanwhile, Mourinho’s side have managed to return to winning ways after suffering back-to-back defeats to Brighton & Hove Albion and Tottenham Hotspur. Romelu Lukaku scored both goals for United during their recent triumph over Burnley and this now sees them occupy the 10th position on the table with six points.