5 transfers that definitely won't happen this year

Never say never, yes I know all about that. It is not right to tempt fate because, well, it has a way to come back and bite you in the behind. Nevertheless, there are some certainties in life and the motive of this slideshow is to depict that.

Transfer windows are always a source of entertainment as they continually provide the football fraternity with some outrageous rumours. Sometimes, however, some crazy rumours go on to become a reality.

But in most cases, it doesn’t happen, and these rumours remain rumours — Such rumours are just means to make money for the outlets. And in the ongoing window, we have seen several rumours that fall into the latter category.

That being said, here are 5 rumours we've seen in recent times, that promise to not reach fruition. Not this year, at least...

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#5 Toni Kroos to Manchester United

Recent rumours have linked Toni Kroos with a Manchester United move

Source of this rumour?

The originator of this rumour is none other than the infamous Don Balon, who aren’t reputed to be a reliable source. After all, you can’t really trust an outlet that links every player with every club almost every day. They claimed that Madrid would sell him to United in order to raise money for the signing of Neymar.

Why this won’t happen?

Toni Kroos is 28-years-old and is a midfielder who sets the tempo of the game from the middle of the park. He doesn’t make driving runs and isn’t a workhorse. He simply connects the dots from the centre. Further, he is only going to begin to hit his peak over the next few years.

At 28, he is only just entering his best years and there is no way under the blue sky that Real Madrid would sell him at his peak to United. And about raising money, Real Madrid have other players for that. Besides, United are the ones that need to balance the books after the expensive forays in the last two windows—and not Real Madrid.

#4 Mohamed Salah to Real Madrid

Real Madrid will spend, but not on Salah

Source of this rumour?

Once upon a time, whatever Gianluca Di Marzio reported was received as the gospel of transfer rumours. His precise reports made him one of the most reliable entities of the transfer world. And it is him, who has generated this rumour.

Why this won’t happen?

For starters, I used the term ‘once upon a time’ to describe the accuracy of Di Marzio. While he is still the unprecedented king of accurate rumours in Serie A, his performances in the 'rest of the world' category has been sub-par for some time now.

The Egyptian only just joined the Merseyside outfit 6 months ago and even if the move is touted to happen in the near future, it won’t—and here’s why: To sign Mohamed Salah, Real Madrid will need to spend at least the same amount of money that Barcelona spent on Philippe Coutinho.

And while Real Madrid may have the money, they would rather spend it on a striker—Harry Kane, to be precise—and doing that for Salah would only just close the doors on the forward that the Blancos desperately need.

#3 Mateo Kovacic to Liverpool

Kovacic is the present and future of Madrid

Source of this rumour?

While this might look like a real possibility, given that Liverpool have the money, the chances are nigh on impossible. The source of rumour is Diario Gol, who are also not among the most reliable outlets in the world.

Why this won’t happen?

There is a flawed general consensus flowing around in the air of the football fraternity: that Mateo Kovacic has a £45 million release clause. While this might have been the case in 2015, when he was signed, it simply doesn’t make sense anymore.

The Galacticos have increased the release clauses of even their Castilla players to £88 million in order to keep clubs away—and Kovacic is a future star that we are talking about.

Madrid see him as a Luka Modric's successor at the club, and he has already featured heavily in the plans of Zinedine Zidane, who has played him regularly whenever deemed fit.

As a result, it is safe to assume that Kovacic will be asked to stay put at Madrid, and will, sooner or later, become a first-team regular.

Understandably, Liverpool may never get their hands on the 23-year old, let alone this year.

#2 Harry Kane to Manchester United

Tottenham Hotspur won't sell to a rival club

Source of this rumour?

This is actually the absurd part as an Italian outlet, TuttoMercatoWeb, believe that they know about the talks between two clubs in England. The outlet claims that Manchester United are reportedly in talks with Tottenham over a potential Harry Kane move.

Why this won’t happen?

I mean, come on? Why do you even ask? Remember the time Luka Modric was being courted by Chelsea and the Croatian desperately wanted to leave, but Daniel Levy blocked the move and sold him to Real Madrid next year instead?

Yep, this is what I am trying to imply: that Daniel Levy will not sell to a Premier League club. He would rather let him go to the club that he loathes, Real Madrid, than sell him to Manchester United.

Also, United have only just spent £75 million for a striker, so spending another £200 million for a single player is not something they seem likely to do anytime in the near future.

#1 Cristiano Ronaldo to Chelsea

Too old for Chelsea

Source of this rumour?

And I will end with the most outrageous rumours of them all. The root of this rumour is an easy guess: Don Balon, obviously. They believe that the Portuguese wants to leave Real Madrid for Chelsea in the summer.

Why this won’t happen?

Simply because it is untrue. Yes, Cristiano Ronaldo is a star and yes, any team would love to have him. But let’s consider this: he is going to be 33 in February and there is no way that Los Blancos will sell him for cheap.

Meanwhile, Chelsea aren’t actually as big a spender as some of the other clubs. The fact that Alex Sandro isn’t playing for them is a testament to that claim. So, paying around £100million for a 33-year-old is not something Roman Abramovic would do. Ever.

Further, Cristiano Ronaldo, being a Manchester United product, is very unlikely to join a club that closely rivals the club that shaped the player that he has gone on to become. Having expressed his love for United several times in the past, it is highly improbable that a player with Ronaldo's morals would choose to move to a competitor and not back to United.

Cristiano Ronaldo could leave Madrid, but it most definitely won’t be for Chelsea.