Manchester United forward Cristiano Ronaldo was linked with a move away from the club at the start of the season.
There were reports in the summer from Sky Sports and others that the 37-year-old wanted to move away from Old Trafford after the Red Devils failed to secure Champions League qualification.
Ronaldo completed an emotional return to Manchester United in 2021 and he had an impressive individual campaign in the Premier League. The Portuguese international managed to score 24 goals across all competitions but Manchester United failed to win a trophy and missed out on a top-four finish as well.
Ronaldo’s desire to leave the club at the start of the season was left unfulfilled due to the lack of suitors.
Newcastle manager Eddie Howe was recently quizzed about a potential move for Ronaldo. The Magpies are one of the richest clubs in the world following the takeover and they certainly have the financial resources to pull off the signing. However, Eddie Howe has now revealed that Newcastle are building for the future and therefore Ronaldo’s signing will not fit into their philosophy.
The Newcastle boss added that the Manchester United star remains a top-class player and Newcastle’s reluctance to move for him has nothing to do with the player’s quality.
The 37-year-old has had a difficult season so far and he has started just twice in the Premier League. Meanwhile, Ronaldo has two goals across all competitions for Manchester United this season.
Howe said (as quoted by 90min): “We’re trying to provide long-term growth, we’ve got a longer-term vision.
“At the moment, we have quite an ageing squad, so we need to invest more in young players. That’s probably a big part of our progression, we need to get the average age down.
“So, it might not be a signing that we would necessarily look to make, but that’s not under-estimating the quality of the player.
“He’s an outstanding player. You look at his goal record last year, that was incredible. So, for me, the transfer has worked, it’s been a success. “He got massive goals last year and some really late, important goals in the Champions League. The quality of the player is unquestionable.”