Patrice Evra has revealed Cristiano Ronaldo wanted to join Paris Saint-Germain in 2018 – which could well have ruined his plans to return to Manchester United in 2021.
Evra, who played alongside Ronaldo at United for three years before the Portuguese star’s record £80million (€94m) transfer to Real Madrid, claimed that PSG was on Ronaldo’s radar. The five-time Ballon d’Or winner played for United for six seasons, winning three Premier League titles, one Champions League and various other personal honours before heading to Spain to sign for Madrid.
After almost a decade of success with Real, including four Champions League trophies, two La Liga titles, three UEFA Supercups and three FIFA Club World Cups, Ronaldo was on the hunt for a new challenge in 2018.
Evra told Rothen s’enflamme that Ronaldo was particularly drawn to the project at PSG, which boasted an impressive attacking lineup of Edinson Cavani, Neymar Jr and superstar Kylian Mbappe – who joined them from Monaco in 2018.
Evra said: “Has Cristiano ever wanted to come to PSG? Yes. Before he signed for Juventus, he would have signed for Paris. He wanted to come to PSG. He had options. Chelsea, Juventus, Paris, Arsenal never. He said he would never go to Arsenal. But he was interested in the PSG project.”
Ronaldo’s potential move to PSG may have realigned his thoughts on returning to Manchester in 2021, as this discovery comes just a few years after Messi’s high-profile transfer from Barcelona to PSG on a free that year.
It seems that Ronaldo, 39, ultimately chose not to pursue the PSG option and headed to Italy to play for Juventus instead. But the idea of him joining forces with the likes of Cavani, Neymar and Mbappe remains an intriguing ‘what if’ in the world of football transfers.
Messi, 37, impressed in the forward line for Paris Saint-Germain between 2021 and 2023, netting 32 goals and providing 34 assists over 75 matches. Evra also commented on Messi’s stint in Paris, claiming that Ronaldo would have been a better fit for PSG than the former Barcelona maestro.
Evra said: “If you look at Messi’s stats, he had a great season. I think Messi hated France. He said in an interview that he wanted to leave. You can criticise Cristiano Ronaldo all you want, but he would have adapted, like he did in Saudi Arabia. He would have made an effort. Look at what he is doing in Saudi Arabia.”
While there was once speculation about the possibility of Ronaldo and Messi playing together in Paris, the stars never aligned for these two football giants to pair up for PSG.
Instead, Ronaldo headed to Juventus and won two Serie A titles, plus one Coppa Italia trophy. He then made a highly-anticipated return to United in the Premier League, scoring 24 goals across all competitions in his first season back.
