Back in November 2017, Cristiano Ronaldo reportedly wanted Real Madrid to sign three specific players, but where are all of those stars today?
With Real Madrid lagging behind Barcelona and Atletico Madrid in La Liga at the time, CR7 wanted the club to make some statement signings in the January window.
According to reports from the time, these were the three specific players that Ronaldo wanted Real Madrid to sign in 2017.
Goncalo Guedes
With Ronaldo keen for Madrid to improve their attacking options, he reportedly wanted the club to sign Guedes.
Back in 2017-18, he was still on the books at PSG, but was enjoying an eye-catching loan spell with Valencia in La Liga.
During his loan stint in Spain, the Portuguese winger scored five goals and produced nine assists, averaging a goal contribution every 174 minutes.
While Ronaldo wanted Madrid to sign him, he instead joined Valencia on a permanent basis following his successful loan spell at the Mestalla Stadium.
In hindsight, Madrid probably made the correct decision not to go after Guedes as he’s never quite kicked on like most people had predicted.
Following a five-year spell at Valencia, the winger joined Wolves in 2022 where he’s endured a mixed spell.
After spending the last few years out on loan, he’s now back at Wolves and predominately acts as an impact sub.
Following the departure of Pepe in the summer of 2017, Real Madrid looked fairly short of defensive options around this time.
While Sergio Ramos and Raphael Varane had formed a solid partnership at the back, Ronaldo wanted the club to strengthen their defensive options.
As per reports at the time, PSG’s Marquinhos was the defender that Ronaldo wanted at the club.
In 2017, the Brazilian was regarded as one of the best defenders in Europe, although he was under a long-term contract at Paris.
Ultimately, Ronaldo wasn’t granted his wish with Marquinhos, despite Madrid being linked with the PSG star around that time.
Fast forward to 2025 and the centre-half is still playing in Paris today and has over 450 appearances under his belt at the club.
Kepa Arrizabalaga
It’s safe to say that Real Madrid dodged a bullet with this one.
As Ronaldo wanted Madrid to secure an upgrade on Keylor Navas, he reportedly wanted the club to go after Kepa who was doing well for Athletic Bilbao at the time.
However, instead of going after the Spaniard, Madrid decided to sign Thibaut Courtois which then led to Chelsea purchasing Kepa for £71million.
The 30-year-old is still on the books at Chelsea today, but is currently out on loan with fellow Premier League side Bournemouth.
Funnily enough, Real Madrid did end up signing the Spaniard on loan last season while Courtois was nursing an ACL injury.