PSG tipped to pursue Cristiano Ronaldo next summer

Paris Saint-Germain have been tipped to try and sign Cristiano Ronaldo next summer as a replacement for Kylian Mbappe, who is expected to join Real Madrid.

Mbappe is out of contract at PSG next summer. But while president Nasser Al-Khelaifi declared at Lionel Messi’s official unveiling this week that there is ‘no excuse’ for the young Frenchman not to sign a new contract, he could still run down his deal and move to Madrid as a free agent.

Despite his public stance, AS reports that Al-Khelaifi privately believes Mbappe will not renew, despite telling him already that he won't be leaving this summer. It is claimed that PSG are prepared for him to leave for free next summer and already have their eye on Ronaldo as a replacement.

Ronaldo is also due to be a free agent in 2022 when his current Juventus contract expires and is seemingly a target for the French giants. The justification appears to be that while they will receive no transfer fee for Mbappe, they will also not have to pay one for Ronaldo.

Although Ronaldo will turn 37 in February, he remains one of the best players in the world and scored another 36 goals in 44 total appearances for Juve last season, as well as five for Portugal at Euro 2020 that currently make him the joint leading men’s international goalscorer of all time.

AS note that PSG would offer the Portuguese icon a two-year contract until 2024, by which time he would be 39 and considering whether he wants to continue his playing career or carry on in a less demanding league such as MLS or in Qatar.

If PSG can pull off such a transfer it would put Ronaldo and Messi, who have won 11 Ballon d’Or awards between them and have dominated world football since the late 2000s, on the same team for the first time ever in a truly remarkable turn of events.

For more from Jamie Spencer, follow him on Twitter and Facebook!