Cristiano Ronaldo recently separated from his longtime agent, Jorge Mendes. Mendes had been a part of Ronaldo’s entourage since his Sporting Lisbon days. However, the relationship between the pair started worsening over the past few years, eventually resulting in their separation.
After enduring a tough season at Manchester United over the last couple of years, Ronaldo had his heart set on a move away from Old Trafford. However, to Ronaldo’s dismay, no top club wanted to sign the Portuguese talisman. Several clubs were rumored to be interested in signing the former Manchester United star. Chelsea and Bayern Munich were the two names that were repeated frequently.
🚨 Cristiano Ronaldo parted company with Jorge Mendes before his move to Al-Nassr because the agent was unable to deliver a move to Bayern Munich or Chelsea.
✍️ @elmundoes pic.twitter.com/ZriQMTKh7c
— Football Tweet ⚽ (@Football__Tweet) January 25, 2023
Cristiano Ronaldo was especially keen on a move to Chelsea or Bayern Munich. As per El Mundo, Ronaldo even threatened to leave Jorge Mendes if Mendes failed to engineer a move for the soccer star to either Chelsea or Bayern Munich. Ronaldo allegedly told Mendes, “Either you get me Chelsea or Bayern, or we break up.”
It was even reported that Chelsea’s new owner, Todd Boehly, was keen on making a move for the Portuguese forward. However, ultimately, neither club signed him. Bayern CEO Oliver Kahn also brushed off the rumors about signing Ronaldo. Kahn said, “We briefly discussed Ronaldo at Bayern and Dortmund probably did too. He is one of the greatest of the last decade. But we quickly dismissed that.“
Bayern director Oliver Kahn again on Cristiano Ronaldo: “As much as I appreciate Cristiano Ronaldo as one of the greatest players, a move would not fit into our philosophy”, tells @FrankLinkesch ⛔️🇵🇹 #FCBayern
Mendes discussed with Bayern of Ronaldo but answer is still the same. pic.twitter.com/6Ax6YG6kLs
— Fabrizio Romano (@FabrizioRomano) July 6, 2022
In spite of his repeated efforts, Mendes failed to broker a move for Ronaldo to a top European club. Ronaldo finally decided to make a move to the Saudi Arabian club, Al-Nassr. Ronaldo signed a mega deal with the Saudi club, which will make him the highest-paid soccer player in the world, earning more than $200 million annually.
Why did Jorge Mendes call Cristiano Ronaldo “crazy”?
The fall-out between Jorge Mendes and Cristiano Ronaldo had gone to such an extent that Mendes had called Ronaldo “crazy.” There are a number of reasons which had led to the deterioration of Ronaldo and Mendes’ relationship. These reasons piled up and ultimately led to Ronaldo firing his long-term agent.
The initial reason can be dated back to 2018 when Ronaldo decided to leave Real Madrid. As per El Mundo, Mendes had advised Ronaldo against leaving Real Madrid. Mendes had said, “Stay with Real Madrid, you’ll be protected. If you leave, it’ll be worse.” However, Ronaldo didn’t listen to his agent and signed with Juventus in 2018.
🎙️ Jorge Mendes to Cristiano Ronaldo in 2018:
“Stay at Real Madrid, you’ll be loved and protected. If you leave, things will be worse for you.”
🗣️ @RadioMARCA pic.twitter.com/zyPhanVznr
— Citizen Football (@citizenfootbal) January 25, 2023
El Mundo also reported that Jorge Mendes was not at all in favor of Ronaldo’s controversial interview with Piers Morgan which ultimately led to Ronaldo’s exit from Manchester United. However, Ronaldo again did not listen to Mendes and went ahead with the interview. In addition to this, Ronaldo’s ultimatum to Mendes to either engineer a move to Chelsea or Bayern or be fired led to Mendes calling Ronaldo “crazy.“
This led to Ronaldo and Mendes’s separation after a span of almost two decades. After Mendes and Ronaldo’s separation, Ronaldo’s friend and personal manager Refuge brokered Ronaldo’s move to Al-Nassr. However, neither Ronaldo nor Jorge Mendes has yet spoken about their rife.
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