Piers Morgan has told Cristiano Ronaldo to join Arsenal and 'pair God with Jesus' after the Manchester United star revealed he wanted to leave Old Trafford.
Ronaldo wants to leave United after just one season due to their failure to secure Champions League football. The 37-year-old returned to United last year, but the dream return has been somewhat of a nightmare after the Red Devils recorded their worst ever Premier League finish.
Ronaldo does not want to settle for anything less than Champions League football, having never played in the Europa League, nor its predecessor the UEFA Cup, in any of the past 19 seasons. But despite missing out on Europe's premier club competition also, Morgan has attempted to persuade Ronaldo to join Arsenal.
Morgan has met and interviewed Ronaldo on a number of occasions, and even handed him an Arsenal shirt with his name on the back. Ronaldo almost signed for the Gunners in 2003, but United swooped in and beat Arsene Wenger to it.
But now that Ronaldo wants to leave United again, Morgan has taken the opportunity to re-share the image of him handing the five-time Ballon d'Or winner an Arsenal shirt. And when posting the image on Twitter, the message "It's time @Cristiano" followed.
Morgan's efforts are extremely optimistic, and a fan responded: "In your dreams, Piers." But that hasn't put off Morgan, as he opened up on a message he sent Ronaldo.
Morgan has used Arsenal's imminent signing of Gabriel Jesus as a persuasive tactic, as he replied to the user saying: "It is, but Cristiano likes breaking new ground in football & I just told him that God + Jesus upfront is an irresistible opportunity…"
A move to Arsenal is, of course extremely unlikely for Ronaldo, even if the Gunners had secured Champions League football. But there are plenty of options for the 37-year-old, including Chelsea, whose new owner Todd Boehly is looking to make a statement signing and spoke with Jorge Mendes last week - with Ronaldo's name coming up.
Bayern Munich are set to lose a star of their own, as Robert Lewandowski has expressed his desire to join Barcelona. The German side are adamant that they do not want to sell unless a fair offer is received, but Ronaldo could be an ideal short-term replacement.
Ronaldo could return to Sporting Lisbon where he began his career. The Portuguese side have qualified for the Champions League, meaning that Ronaldo could represent them in his favourite competition.
With one year left on his United deal, the club could keep him until next summer.... a point they've already stressed to him.
