Cristiano Ronaldo to LAFC, LA Galaxy or Inter Miami?
There has been speculation about Cristiano Ronaldo’s future at Manchester United since it was revealed that he wanted to leave the club last summer.
However, a move to his preferred destination of a Champions League club has failed to materialise. Lionel Messi scored twice in the competition last night which means that Ronaldo now is just eleven goals ahead of the Argentine.
It looks like Messi will break his record and with no moves in Europe coming to fruition it looks like Ronaldo may have to give up on a move to a Champions League club. But according to the Los Angeles Times a move to LAFC, LA Galaxy or Inter Miami could be on the cards.
Any MLS club that signs Ronaldo will have the notoriety of completing the deal for one of the best-ever players. The New York Cosmos and LA Galaxy have gone down in football history for signing Pele and David Beckham respectively.
What club could sign Ronaldo?
LAFC are the only side of the three still competing in the MLS playoffs. They face Austin FC in their Conference Finals on Sunday. The success of this team may sway Ronaldo to choose them.
The club also have Gareth Bale in their ranks who, alongside Karim Benzema and Ronaldo, was part of a fantastic front three nicknamed the ‘BBC’ for Real Madrid. It would be unbelievable to see the Portuguese and the Welshman link up again for LAFC.
Their city rivals LA Galaxy have a history of signing big names with the likes of Beckham, Zlatan Ibrahimovic and Steven Gerard all representing the side. The Galaxy was however beaten by LAFC in the Western Conference semi-finals.
A move to the team Beckham owns now, Inter Miami, would make sense. The Herons have a place for him following Gonzalo Higuain’s retirement. Miami has big ambitions and the signing of Ronaldo would be a massive statement.
Is Ronaldo a good option for MLS?
Ronaldo is not doing himself any favours in sticking around at Old Trafford. His refusal to come on as a sub in the club’s victory over Tottenham Hotspur shows how poor his attitude has become. It has also reinforced that he is not a team player and this may put off potential future coaches in MLS. Coaches have had to deal with big egos and keeping their squad content since big-name players started arriving in the league.
Inter Miami head coach Phil Neville is probably the best man to deal with Ronaldo if he is to join his team. Neville knows Ronaldo from when he was a young player at the Red Devils. They played under Sir Alex Ferguson and Neville knows he can go to him for advice on managing the Portuguese forward.
Ronaldo is now 37 and will not go on forever. He showed last season the talent he still has in netting 18 goals in the Premier League. It would be great for MLS to have him whilst he can still score goals, but it would be a risk for any side that manages to sign him in keeping him happy in a league that he is not used to.