Cristiano Ronaldo to join Atletico Madrid? Former teammate reacts

Reports in the Spanish press claim Atletico Madrid could be the Manchester United star’s next club.

Marcos Llorente has played down rumors linking his former Real Madrid teammate Cristiano Ronaldo with a move to the Metropolitano Stadium.

The Atletico Madrid midfielder reckons it is pointless to debate whether Ronaldo will join Diego Simeone’s side unless something really happens, describing this latest rumor as ‘smoke’.

The rumor itself came from Diario AS. The Spanish paper claimed Atletico have contacted Ronaldo’s representatives about a transfer. The club, however, don’t have the finances to pull the deal off yet. It added that CR7 and Atletico manager Simeone would relish the chance to work together, highlighting the mutual respect between the pair.

😅 Cristiano Ronaldo has scored 25 goals in 37 career appearances against Atletico Madrid, including four hat-tricks pic.twitter.com/0ytJiwg5fh

— WhoScored.com (@WhoScored) July 21, 2022

Will Ronaldo join the red side of Madrid?

“People talk about so many names that don’t end up arriving,” Llorente told Cadena SER radio on Wednesday.

“If he comes, there’ll be time to talk about it… I try to ignore it because people talk too much.

“In other summers, similar things have happened with players of that level. It’s all ‘smoke.’ Until it’s certain, we won’t talk about players who aren’t at our club… We all know how he plays and what he’s achieved, but it’s the coaching staff and the club who should decide.”

Llorente is a product of Real Madrid’s youth system and played alongside CR7 in the senior team nine times. He joined Atletico in the summer of 2019 for €30 million.

Another report in Spain from Marca, meanwhile, has ruled out a return to Real Madrid for Ronaldo.

The forward has reportedly handed in a transfer request to Manchester United after just one season, although the Premier League club still hope to keep him for the 2022/23 campaign.