A media report in Italy has claimed that football mega star Cristiano Ronaldo's agent Jorge Mendes has offered him to English giants Manchester City, as rumours have been rife for the last few days about the 36-year-old's future at the Serie A side.
Ronaldo's $35 million-a-year Juventus contract is set to expire in 10 months. And, for months, there has been rising speculation about his exit from the Allianz Stadium.
Ever since reports pointed out that Ronaldo wasn't happy with the Italian team's performance last season, the five-time Ballon d'Or winner has been linked with French club Paris Saint-Germain (PSG), as well as his former clubs Real Madrid and Manchester United.
On the other hand, Man City has been desperately looking for a world-class forward, a search which has further intensified after their poor display in their Premier League opener last weekend.
Meanwhile England skipper Harry Kane has been City's prime target, as club manager Pep Guardiola rates him extremely highly, and he also fits into his scheme of things perfectly well.
However, Guardiola's attempts to recruit Kane have failed to bear fruit so far, as talks between City and Tottenham have stalled over the 28-year-old's price.
While City are willing to offer as much as $165 million for Kane, improving on their previous offer of $138m, Spurs have been playing a hard game over his valuation, which they think is around $210 million.
Meanwhile, Italian media outlet Corriere dello Sport reported on Monday that CR7's agent Mendes has sent a proposal to the Citizens, offering Ronaldo for only $35 million.
Considering the Juventus striker is still one of the best players in the world, the Italian club's willingness to sell Ronaldo for such an amount appears to be quite shocking.
But like all Spanish and Serie A sides, Juventus is also struggling with a ballooning debt, which stands at around $430 million as of July 2021 and that's why, it is believed that the main factor behind Juve's decision to sell Ronaldo could be his hefty wage bill.
Ronaldo's arrival at the Etihad Stadium has the potential of creating a massive controversy, as he has played for their arch-rivals Man Utd for six seasons from 2003 and 2009.
Ronaldo had a super successful stay at Old Trafford, scoring an impressive 118 goals in 292 appearances and leading them to three successive league titles in 2007, 2008, and 2009.
United fans have always held Ronaldo in high regard and if he moves to their rivals City, it may just be viewed as treachery by them.
Despite the swirling rumours, Ronaldo is getting himself ready for the 2021-22 Serie A season with Juventus, with Massimiliano Allegri, who led the club to six league titles, arriving in Turin after two years.
Allegri was also the architect of the Old Lady's appearance in twin Champions League finals in 2015 and 2017.
But Ronaldo, who was primarily brought to the club to win the elite European tournament, has failed to win it with Juventus, even though he has previously won it five times in his career, with Manchester United and Real Madrid.