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MADRID. — Real Madrid manager Carlo Ancelotti has dismissed speculation linking Cristiano Ronaldo with a return to the club.
The Juventus forward (36) has 10 months remaining on his contract in Turin and has been linked with Real, Paris Saint-Germain and Manchester City.
But, in a rare move, Ancelotti responded to the rumours in a tweet yesterday.
“Cristiano is a Real Madrid legend and he has all my love and respect. I have never considered signing him. We look forward. #HalaMadrid,” he wrote.
Ancelotti’s tweet appears to have been prompted by a report by Spanish TV show El Chiringuito, which claimed on Monday night that a reunion between Real and Ronaldo was a possibility, three years after he left the club to sign for Juventus.
Other reports claimed Ronaldo’s agent has reportedly offered the former Manchester United superstar’s services to neighbours Manchester City.
Juve chief Pavel Nedved recently told rival clubs to forget about trying to sign Ronaldo this summer because he is staying put.
However, Corriere dello Sport have now made the astonishing claim that his agent Jorge Mendes is offering him to Manchester City.
They state Juventus would accept a figure of £26m as that amount would ensure they do not make a loss on the veteran.
But, if there is club the Portuguese superstar is unlikely to join, soon, then it has to be Barcelona.
The president of the Catalan giants, Joan Laporta, has revealed they are €1,35 billion (£1,15bn) in debt, describing the situation as “very worrying”.
The club’s wage bill currently accounts for 103 percent of total income.
Laporta blames predecessor Josep Maria Bartomeu for the debt, accusing him of leaving a “terrible inheritance”.
Extending Lionel Messi’s contract would have made the wage bill accountable for 110 percent of revenue, which La Liga refused to accept.
Messi signed for Paris Saint-Germain.
‘‘Our salaries represent 103 percent of the club’s total income, that’s 20-25 percent more than our competitors,” said Laporta.
“The first thing we had to do when we arrived was to ask for a loan of €80m because, otherwise, we could not pay the salaries. The previous regime was full of lies.
“Barcelona has a negative net worth of €451 million – it is a terrible inheritance. What has been happening is very worrying.”
Bartomeu defended himself in an open letter released on Saturday, claiming financial measures he would have put in place, had he not been forced to resign in October, would have allowed Messi to stay at Barcelona.
“As is known, our board of directors planned to call elections on 21 March, within the statutory period at the end of our mandate, which would have allowed us to take on and carry out the settlement of the 2020-21 season accounts,” Bartomeu said.
“We would then have taken the decisions necessary to avoid arriving at the current financial situation.
“We would have been the only ones responsible for the closure (due to the pandemic) and its consequences, a decision that the new board has not taken throughout these past months, making clear their inaction.”
Laporta described Bartomeu’s letter as “an effort to justify management that is unjustifiable” and “an exercise in desperation”, adding: “They will not escape their doing.”
New signings Memphis Depay, Eric Garcia and Rey Manaj were only able to be registered by La Liga after defender Gerard Pique agreed to a wage cut to comply with salary cap rules. — BBC Sport/The Sun
Online Reporter
Peter Tanyanyiwa