In what is the least shocking bit of football news, Manchester United have cancelled the contract of Cristiano Ronaldo with immediate effect. CR7, who only rejoined the club in 2021, struggled this year after a stellar 24-goal season last year. Rumors are rife that Chelsea is eager to sign the legend but is he willing to join too?

What led to the contract termination was the now infamous interview with outspoken TV host Piers Morgan. In this wide-ranging interview, Ronaldo talks about some executives wanting him out of the club and some not believing his daughter was sick in the summer.

The 37-year-old had started the four games consecutively for The Red Devils but hadn’t played since the 3-1 defeat to Aston Villa on 6th November. With the arrival of Erik Ten Haag as manager, it appeared likely that the Portuguese legend’s time at United was numbered.

Cristiano Ronaldo talked about being betrayed and disrespected. Maybe this contract termination can help bring some focus on the criticisms of the poor running of the club. This was an issue the former Real Madrid man passionately raised.

It’s been a real contentious issue ever since the American owners, the Glazer family bought the club.CR7, you deserve a fitting legacy to your career, here’s to hoping the next chapter in your life provides that.

We had a discussion at the sports desk about where CR7 will head next. After some disagreements in our office, the consensus is that we think the Portuguese legend will wind up at Chelsea.

Think about it, Champions League club, check, ambitious check and they have wanted to sign him too, massive check!

So, if this indeed is the case how will CR7 fit into the team? Our immediate analysis is that current Chelsea striker Pierre Emerick Aubameyang might be heading back to the bench.

If this indeed is the case, one will have to feel for the Gabonese man, one of the unluckiest men in football. First, the former Arsenal, who did well at Barcelona, was consigned to the bench after Robert Lewandowski joined the club.

It’s never nice to see a player on the bench, especially one as talented as Aubameyang. Ronaldo in his earlier days of his career was, of course, a winger, with blistering pace, that would give opposing full-backs sleepless nights.

As impressive of an athlete as CR7 is, he just doesn’t have the body for that, those bursts of pace consistently. Age waits for no one sadly. What he doesn’t have in pace, CR7 has with instinct. After hitting his 30s, Ronaldo’s goal-scoring stats are insane (300 goals for club and country).

The argument for Chelsea not to sign him is Cristiano’s modest goal-scoring return this season. To counter this, it can be argued that Ronaldo hasn’t been given a prolonged run in the team.

Last season, for example, CR7 scored a superb 24 goals, in a Manchester United team that struggled badly. Chelsea owner Todd Boehly has been championing the singing of the Portugal captain ever since he took over the club.

The good points of this signing are that Ronaldo will lift the standards at the club, the man’s a legend! He’s won five Champions Leagues, many titles and individual titles too.

To give the former Dortmund forward Pierre Emerick-Aubameyang, some solace, I think he can go out wide, to allow Ronaldo to go down the middle.

One player who will be sweating with the potential of the former Manchester United man would be Raheem Sterling. The former Man City man, of course, after a good start initially, is not having the best of times in West London currently.

Giving Sterling a chance to come out of the firing line and replace him with CR7, might be good for Raheem in the long run. One player who could suffer that we haven’t mentioned in Armando Broja.

The Southampton loanee of last season turned down permanent moves to fight for his place in West London. So, there you have it, we think

Cristiano Ronaldo moving to Chelsea has its positives. CR7 will raise standards on and off the pitch. What we also now know, Cristiano isn’t afraid to call out any complacency either.

Surely it’s a win-win, right?

The post Can Chelsea Sign Cristiano Ronaldo? appeared first on Pakistan Tribune.