Football finance expert Dr Rob Wilson has suggested Cristiano Ronaldo could “sniff around” Manchester United, but he suggested Cheltenham would be a “great” option.
Ronaldo has had two spells at Old Trafford. In his first, he became one of the best players in the world, winning the Ballon d’Or before heading to Real Madrid.
After etching his name alongside the legends of the game with Real, and a short stay at Juventus, the Portuguese superstar returned to United to the adulation of fans, scoring 27 goals in 54 games before a spat with then-manager Erik ten Hag saw his contract cancelled.
Now 40, Ronaldo has spent the last two and a half seasons with Al-Nassr in the Saudi Pro League, but must be considering life after his playing days.
Dr Wilson, a football finance expert, feels investing in United could be in his thoughts, but he’s suggested another English club with great potential.
“I’d be amazed if Cristiano Ronaldo doesn’t invest in an English football team. I would imagine he’ll be trying to sniff around getting into a club like Manchester United as a strategic investment or a minority owner somehow,” he told Casino Games.
“As I said recently about Elon Musk potentially getting involved in football, Cheltenham Town is a massively undervalued asset with great financial fundamentals.
“So if an investor wants to look at a football club, they would do no worse than have a look at Cheltenham Town Football Club because it is really positioned nicely in a list of most attractive footballing assets.
“The reality for Musk or Ronaldo now is, with the greatest respect, it’s pocket change to them because they are that wealthy. Now it can have a transformative impact on the club and bring a huge amount of benefit.
“But I don’t really think you get that kind of investment return that you’re looking for, because you’re not looking for a few million, you’re looking for a return of tens or hundreds of millions, or a Champions League trophy.”
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Were Ronaldo to invest in United, he’d likely want to be somewhat hands-on with big decisions at the club, having previously shown disdain for some decisions which have been made above him in his career.
“I learned from everyone. I had some really bad coaches. Some of them don’t have a f***ing clue about football at all,” he said in an interview.
He also blamed Ten Hag for a number of things which went wrong at United before his sacking, so would surely want to know that the club would listen to him in relation to who should be given power.
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