Cristiano Ronaldo set to choose new club as Glazers put Man Utd up for sale to raise $9bn – Paper Round

United up for sale

Manchester United are ready to be sold by the Glazer family, reports the Sun. They are commencing a strategic review with a suggestion that they want to raise £9 billion from any takeover. The Glazer family have been in charge for almost two decades, paid around £790m for the club, and will walk away with an enormous profit – with Jim Ratcliffe potentially the buyer.

Paper Round’s view: Ratcliffe has often discussed wishing to buy United but was not given the chance by the Glazers, who seemed content to retain their ownership. Ratcliffe cannot afford to buy the club entirely out of his own pocket, so a consortium would need to come together in order to pool resources, or sovereign wealth fund will need to lead the charge.

Sporting and Chelsea lead race for Ronaldo

Sporting Lisbon and Chelsea are considered the two most likely sides to make a play for Cristiano Ronaldo now he has left Manchester United following the termination of his contract. The Mirror believes that Sporting Lisbon would welcome back the 37-year-old striker after two decades away, while Ronaldo may not quite fit in with Graham Potter’s plan.

Paper Round’s view: Real Madrid are also an option given Karim Benzema’s recent injury for France, and their failure to sign Kylian Mbappe, and Mbappe’s current club Paris Saint-Germain might also take a look at pairing him with Lionel Messi. One potential other option would be Newcastle, but it’s tough to see who might be able to afford his huge wages.

Questions over Spence future

There are concerns over Djed Spence’s Tottenham future after he deleted Instagram posts and replaced his profile image with a black square. The Daily Mail suggests that the move may be borne of frustration after he has struggled to get ahead of Matt Doherty and Emerson Royal in the race to start as right-back under Antonio Conte, making a handful of substitute appearances.

Paper Round’s view: At 22, Spence had yet to garner Premier League experience before his move from Nottingham Forest, after a loan spell at Middlesbrough. The defender looks promising but he will struggle to improve if he does not get time on the pitch elsewhere. He is unlikely to want to drop down divisions again, so Spurs need to find a suitable loan deal for the rest of the season.

Bellingham and Rice to start bidding war

Jude Bellingham and Declan Rice being part of an England squad that defeated Iran 6-2 has led to speculation that they will both be up for grabs this summer as Europe’s biggest teams circle the duo. Borussia Dortmund’s 19-year-old Bellingham and West Ham midfielder Rice, 23, could both fetch in excess of £100m, with the Telegraph suggesting that Manchester City, Chelsea and Real Madrid could all be interested.

Paper Round’s view: England have started the World Cup strongly but for the teams who are mentioned as keen, they will be waiting to see how they do against tougher sides than Iran. For Rice is is especially important to show his abilities has he does not get the chance with his current domestic side to test himself against Champions League sides outside England.