A-League boss Danny Townsend has made an audacious bid to bring world football icon Cristiano Ronaldo to Australia.
Currently preparing for the Qatar World Cup with Portugal, Ronaldo made worldwide headlines this week in an interview on Piers Morgan Uncensored when he said he felt his current club Manchester United had “betrayed” him and that he had ”no respect” for Red Devils manager Erik ten Hag.
It‘s almost certain to mean that Ronaldo has played his last match for United and will leave the English Premier League club in January’s transfer window.
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The situation is also understood to have led to Ronaldo’s agent Jorge Mendes shopping his star client around to various clubs and leagues worldwide.
They include the A-League, with Australian Professional Leagues chief executive officer Townsend telling News Corp Australia that the offer for Ronaldo had been submitted to Mendes on Wednesday.
“He (Ronaldo) said he wasn‘t getting any love and respect at Manchester United but we’ll certainly give him plenty of love and respect in Australia,” Townsend said.
“We might not be able to compete financially with other offers but we can compete in other ways.”
Former Real Madrid and Juventus star Ronaldo didn‘t travel with United to Australia earlier this year.
His former United teammate Nani joined A-League club Melbourne Victory this season.
In an earlier radio interview Townsend revealed the A-Leagues had “registered our interest in bringing him to Australia.”
“Obviously it‘s a longshot but we’ve certainly got a compelling proposition for him hre in Australia to consider, so we’re in dialogue and we’ll see where that goes,” Townsend told SportsFM 91.3.
Ronaldo has a connection to Australia as the grandparents of the five-time Ballon d’Or winner live in Western Australia.
He has previously been linked with Chelsea and a big-money move to Saudi Arabia.
