It’s fair to say new Real Madrid manager Zinedine Zidane won’t be holidaying in Manchester anytime soon.
All plucky little Manchester United wanted to do was to steal his two finest players this January, as they seek to bolster their attacking ranks ahead of a late surge to the Premier League title. But the follicly challenged Frenchman ruled out the departure of Cristiano Ronaldo in one of his first press conferences as gaffer, absolutely shattering United hearts.
January transfer window closes in
All the talk had been of Ronaldo making a quite sensational mega-millions switch back to Old Trafford, with the Portuguese seemingly more likely to quit the Bernabau than his slightly underwhelming apprentice, Gareth Bale.
Indeed, one Madrid source even came out of the woodwork to say: “Out of Bale and Ronaldo, Ronaldo is the player expected to leave the club. Bale is still seen as the future, whereas Ronaldo’s best years may now be behind him.”
Cristiano and chum
But it turns out the Madrid top brass have seemingly had a chance of heart, and that Ronaldo won’t be trading in La Liga for the Premier League anytime soon.
Said Zizou at his conference: “It's not just that (Ronaldo) isn't for sale, instead he's the heart and soul of this team. I laugh because as long as I'm here, he isn't going anywhere".
Of course, ‘as long as I’m here’ could translate to a mere 10 matches, but it certainly seems as though an unhappy Ronaldo won’t be slinking off on the cheap, which is the scenario United were angling for.
• Top 50 transfer targets in the January window
And – in even more Zinedine Zidane is a merciless Manchester City supporting wind-up merchant news – the great bald one also played down any rumours Gareth Bale would leave, too. Bale is, of course, United’s other main transfer target this winter.
"Departures? I don't want anyone to leave and I hope nobody does,” trolled Zidane. “I'm not planning for any arrivals either. I have a good-sized squad and I'll make do with the team I have."
Maybe he fancies a return to Southampton?
Mind you, that hasn’t stopped The Sun from speculating that Chelsea are preparing an audacious £120million move for Bale in the summer, as Roman Abramovich seeks to bolster his squad ahead of next year’s Europe-less season under new management.
The paper believes that such a warchest puts the Blues in pole position to sign the Welsh winger, and that United would not be able to compete with such a fee. So either he’s not leaving or he’s going to Chelsea, you possibly heard it here first.
Speaking of Chelsea, Eden Hazard’s very media-friendly father, Thierry, has told Belgian newspaper Het Nieuwsblad that his once-quite-good-but-now-actually-a-bit-of-a-family-disappointment son won’t be leaving Stamford Bridge anytime soon, thank you very much.
"Eden is completely focused on Chelsea," he downplayed, provocatively.
Hazard = focused
"Even with Chelsea he still has ambition. Winning a title might be hard, but finishing in the top three is still possible.
"Eden now has two injuries in quick succession. I am convinced that his current groin injury related to the hip injury he sustained earlier this season. These injuries happen because he plays a lot of games.
"Eden plays a kind of football where you have to be one hundred per cent. Therefore I hope that he takes the time to hit top form again. He is at an age that he must organise his season and his games wisely."
And finally, it would appear Ed Woodward’s way of dealing with all of this rejection is to simply run out and splash the cash on somebody else, instead. The evidence? The Daily Star have claimed that the club are moving closer to finalising a £36.9 million deal for Lazio’s attacking midfielder Felipe Anderson.
The Brazil international has impressed in the 18 appearances he has made for Lazio this season, and is increasingly regarded as one of the most exciting young players in the game.
Felipe Anderson. Any good? Nobody knows. Nobody cares
The Metro meanwhile report that “super-agent” Mino Raiola is acting as an intermediary in the transfer deal, with Woodward desperate to sign the 22-year old winger.
Does it matter that Anderson is being regularly out-performed in Serie A by the likes of Napoli’s Lorenzo Insigne, Fiorentina’s Federico Bernardeschi and Inter’s Adem Ljajic? Of course it doesn’t. Of course it doesn’t.
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