Paris Saint-Germain have reportedly told Real Madrid they want to sign Cristiano Ronaldo this summer as club president Nasser Al-Khelaifi looks to complete his “dream” front line of the Portuguese star, Neymar and Kylian Mbappe.
According to Manu Sainz of AS, PSG are willing to pay €150 million (£131 million) to sign Ronaldo—his release clause is €1 billion—and they would pay him a net salary of €45 million (£39 million) to bring him in line with Barcelona’s Lionel Messi.
Talk of Ronaldo departing the Santiago Bernabeu has increased lately in the wake of some choice comments made by the 33-year-old after Real won their third successive UEFA Champions League on Saturday, per Spanish football writer Dermot Corrigan:
Ronaldo just now on TV “In coming days there’ll be answer about my future. It has been very nice playing for Real Madrid.” Yikes!
— Dermot Corrigan (@dermotmcorrigan) May 26, 2018
PSG are one of the few sides in the world with the financial clout and ambition to attract Ronaldo, but there are sure to be a number of reasons why a move for the former Manchester United man to the Parc des Princes may not go through.
Sainz highlighted two obstacles: the prospect of Ronaldo’s switch facilitating Neymar’s move the other way, and financial fair play restrictions.
Neymar, 26, only moved to PSG from Barcelona for £200 million last summer but rumours have abounded that Real are interested in taking him back to Spain, per Sabrina Belalmi of Goal.
It is surely a guarantee that, were PSG to move for Ronaldo and Real were prepared to let him go, Los Blancos would look to use the deal to sign Neymar for themselves.
Meanwhile, PSG’s transfer activity last summer, where they signed Kylian Mbappe in an expensive loan-to-buy deal, as well as shelling out on Neymar, has already prompted an investigation into a breach of UEFA’s financial fair play rules, per Murad Ahmed of the Financial Times.
It seems unlikely PSG would be able to shell out a further €150 million on Ronaldo, while keeping Neymar and Mbappe at the club, without arousing further suspicions and risking potential sanctions.