Cristiano Ronaldo is reported to have a clause in his contract which allows him to join Newcastle United on loan… if they qualify for the Champions League this season.
If true, it would be an interesting back door way of landing Ronaldo back into Europe via his new Saudi Arabian club Al Nassr, without the Toon playing his £175m wages in full.
There may be commercial advantages too for Newcastle’s 80pc Saudi owners, the state run Public Investment Fund. But that’s where the upside ends. Ronaldo was eased out by Manchester United partly because he didn’t fit with the new energetic style of play brought in by Erik Ten Hag.
If anything, Newcastle are every more aggressive than the Old Trafford giants in their off-the-ball work and pressing. Their game depends on every cog of the well-timed, high-up-the-pitch hard work, and functioning. With Ronaldo in the side, it would break down.
Bringing Ronaldo to Newcastle on loan would run against everything Eddie Howe has built on and off the pitch. No egos, humble lads, a don’t-let-your-mate-down team ethic, and organic building with stars who will grow in value.
Bringing in a legend of the game approaching his 39th birthday next season to gatecrash all that’s worked over the past two years is a preposterous idea. By next summer, after spending big again on emerging talent, he wouldn’t get in the Newcastle team.
Howe has previously been quick to shut down any suggestion that Ronaldo could join Newcastle. Back in October he spoke about "long-term grown" and prioritising lowering the age of his squad.
Howe said: "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 probably need to invest in more young players. That's probably a big part of our progression, really.
"We need to get the average age down, so it might not be a signing [Ronaldo] that we would necessarily look to make – but not under-estimating the quality of the player."
