Cristiano turns 'Operation Mbappé' upside down

The stars are lining up to generate a possible earthquake in the last market week. Cristiano's controversial request Juventus to be a substitute this past Sunday against Udinese, revealed by the journalist Fabrizio Romano, is the tip of the iceberg of a new scenario in which the Portuguese star is the key for Real Madrid to take over Mbappé. As AS reported two months ago, PSG's initial intention is to get Cristiano in 2022 for free to alleviate the loss of Mbappe in the same way (end of contract). But this new movement by Cristiano seeks to accelerate that process at the end of August. This newspaper has tried to contact the closest environment of the ex-Madridista and also with PSG, but the secrecy is total. That direct message from the Portuguese giant to Vecchia Signora It offers the Qatari ownership of PSG a way to sell Mbappé now, earn money along the way and collect a Cristiano-Messi-Neymar planetary trident one year ahead of the 2022 World Cup in Qatar. A huge temptation.

Madrid has been thinking for weeks that this market could generate unexpected tectonic plate movements since Messi landed at PSG. As published by AS this past weekend, in Chamartín the final offensive is being prepared for August 30 (when the Parisian team is already immersed in the national team break) and Cristiano's increasingly desperate desire to immediately shake up his future it opens up an appetizing stage for white interests. At the highest levels of Real Madrid it has always been very difficult to sign Mbappé this summer (not in 2022) but an increasingly thick thread of hope was dropped: “Until August 31 a lot can happen …”. One of them is that something happens that takes PSG out of its position of not negotiating under any circumstances. Cristiano is the lever to achieve it.

Juve will not be a problem because, as this newspaper has been reporting, it welcomes breaking ties with the Portuguese and the play, in Parisian terms, can square with a goal for the squad. The negative impact in terms of image (something very important for the Qatari property) of opening Mbappé's golden cage would totally overlap with that trio formed by Messi, Cristiano and Neymar who, to this day, are still the three most soccer players. followed by the planet and seemed impossible to put together under the same roof. By the way, This Mbappé-Cristiano 'change' planned in 2022 would not leave financial benefits as it would now generate selling Kylian for between € 130-170M (the offer that Madrid is preparing) and signing a CR7 one year younger at a bargain price.

That although the economic part is not a problem for PSG and even less so with the laxity with which they apply Financial Fair Play, balancing balances it helps to generate the story that they are not blowing up the competition based on 'petroeuros' injected from Qatar. And PSG despite so many zero-cost signings (Donnarumma, Ramos, Wijnaldum …) still need to make sales for € 185M to balance the accounts. He does not find a buyer for Julian Draxler and there is no other way out that he leaves cash at PSG.

He doesn't want to go back to Manchester

Cristiano's precaution against Udinese (he played in an agreed manner the last 30 minutes because Juve did not have the game resolved) to avoid injuries while sending a message to the world that he is on the market, is significant. Also that of its environment, which maintains a Silence stampa because right now the future of the star is complicated. He has only three suitors, in addition to PSG, City and Manchester United, but AS learned, he is not seduced by the idea of ​​returning to Old Trafford. Nor in excess of that of City, which would depend on the Harry Kane case, for being Manchester. It already happened to him in 2018 when he wanted to leave Madrid. Cristiano has his sights elsewhere, PSG has him in their plans in the short or medium term and the domino that may fall, in the direction of the new Bernabéu, is that of Mbappé. The last week of the market is going to be frantic and Madrid is alive in that battle.