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  • January 22, 2025

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Cristiano Ronaldo almost formed a deadly trio with Neymar and Mbappe at PSG before Juventus moved
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Cristiano Ronaldo almost formed a deadly trio with Neymar and Mbappe at PSG before Juventus moved

After winning the 2017-18 UEFA Champions League, Christiano Ronaldo shocked the world by announcing that the final was against Liverpool would be his last game for Real Madrid. The Portuguese legend eventually decided to join Italian giants Juventus, but he had several options to get involved Paris Saint Germain and form a formidable trio with Neymar and Kylian Mbappé.

Following his sudden announcement, numerous clubs attempted to sign Ronaldo during the 2018 summer transfer window. Juventus emerged as the frontrunners, offering €117 million to sign the 33-year-old striker. Although the Serie A side won the race for his signature, this was not the only project that caught Ronaldo’s interest.

According to his former Manchester United teammate Patrice EvraRonaldo was intrigued by PSG’s project before Juventus came knocking. “Did Ronaldo ever want to come to PSG? Yes. This was before he signed for Juventus. He had options: Chelsea, Juventus, PSG, Arsenal… he said he would never go to Arsenal and was interested in the Paris project”, Evra said to RMC Sport.

Evra also stressed that Ronaldo’s adjustment to Ligue 1 would have been seamless, just as he has adapted to life at Al-Nassr in Saudi Arabia. “They can criticize Cristiano, but he would have adapted. He would have made an attempt. Look what he’s doing in Saudi Arabia. He is now a Saudi”, the French legend stated forcefully.

PSG, already planning to build a star-studded team to boost Ligue 1’s global appeal and challenge for the Champions League, saw Ronaldo as a potential signing. Known as “Mr. Champions”, Ronaldo would have been a perfect complement to Neymar and Mbappépotentially creating one of the most lethal attacking trios in football history. However, Juventus eventually swooped in to secure the five-time Ballon d’Or winner.

Neymar and Mbappé: the possible obstacles to PSG signing Ronaldo

Juventus shocked the football world not only by signing Ronaldo, but also by investing such a substantial amount of money in a 33-year-old player. Although PSG’s financial power is well documented, their ability to match Juventus’ offer may be limited by UEFA’s Financial Fair Play (FFP) rules.

At the time, UEFA’s FFP rule prohibited teams from exceeding a €30 million deficit between transfer expenditure and revenue (later increased to €100 million in 2022). During the 2017-2018 season PSG had already broken transfer records by signing Neymar for €222 million and security Mbappe on a loan deal with a mandatory buyout clause of €180 million for the 2018-2019 season– the same summer, Ronaldo left Real Madrid.

Submitting a similar offer to Juventus for Ronaldo would likely have been in breach of FFP rules. Exposing PSG to strict sanctions. For this reason, the French club could possibly have refrained from pursuing the Portuguese superstar.

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