Ronaldo’s relationship with agent under strain

Cristiano Ronaldo and his long-standing agent Jorge Mendes could be set to part company, while Chelsea are still looking to splash some serious cash on a Ukraine international coveted by Arsenal ESPN’s Insider Notebook has the latest.

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Ronaldo’s relationship with agent under strain

Cristiano Ronaldo’s long-standing relationship with agent Jorge Mendes is under mounting strain following his move to Saudi Arabian club Al Nassr, sources have told ESPN.

Mendes, whose other clients include Jose Mourinho, Darwin Nunez and Joao Felix, has represented Ronaldo throughout his illustrious career, but the 37-year-old’s frustrations date back to a lack of options when seeking a transfer last summer.

After Manchester United failed to qualify for the Champions League, Mendes met with a series of clubs including Chelsea, Atletico Madrid and Sporting CP, but a concrete offer from a top European club failed to materialise. Sources said that Chelsea co-owner Todd Boehly was interested in exploring a deal for Ronaldo, but then-head coach Thomas Tuchel repeatedly dismissed the idea.

Although a move to Saudi Arabia was a possibility during the summer transfer window, Ronaldo chose to stay at United in the hope either his fortunes would improve or a positive showing at the 2022 World Cup in Qatar would tempt a European club into making an offer to sign him. However, Ronaldo found himself marginalised by United boss Erik ten Hag and his contract was eventually terminated by mutual consent in November after his explosive interview with Piers Morgan, before he was benched by Portugal boss Fernando Santos for both their knockout matches at the World Cup.

Despite Ronaldo becoming a free agent, Mendes was once again unable to generate any concrete interest from a side capable of giving the forward a chance to win a sixth Ballon d’Or award or…