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FC Barcelona president Joan Laporta and Cristiano Ronaldo's agent Jorge Mendes met in Barcelona on Monday to discuss the possible transfer of the player from Manchester United, according to Spanish outlet AS.
Ronaldo has been in the news recently after expressing his desire to leave United this summer. The five-time Ballon d'Or winner is keen to compete for major titles and play in the UEFA Champions League. That has attracted the attention of a host of clubs, including Chelsea, AS Roma and Bayern Munich. However, a surprise name thrown in the mix is that of Barcelona. Ronaldo represented their arch-rivals Real Madrid for nine seasons, from 2009 to 2018.
According to the aforementioned source, Mendes and Laporta also discussed the availability of other players, including Ruben Neves, Bernardo Silva and Rafael Leao. The three players discussed in the meeting are considered to be potential targets for Barcelona this summer or in the near future. Ronaldo, however, was one of the major talking points of the meeting.
Laporta was interested in signing Ronaldo last summer amid his uncertain future at Juventus. However, the Blaugrana's unstable poor conditions prevented them from lodging a bid for the Portuguese forward. Ronaldo instead moved to Manchester United on a two-year contract.
It's worth mentioning that Barcelona are looking to sign a superstar forward - Robert Lewandowski - this summer. It will be interesting to see whether their interest in Ronaldo impacts their pursuit of the Polish forward.
Cristiano Ronaldo has been one of Barcelona's nemesis over the years
The idea of Cristiano Ronaldo wearing the blue and red of Barcelona may be difficult to imagine due to his previous ties with Real Madrid. The 37-year-old has had an amazing track record against the Blaugrana over the years.
Ronaldo has faced Barcelona on 34 occasions and has contributed 20 goals and three assists. Two of those goals were scored while he was a Juventus player, while the other 18 were scored in various El Clasico games for Madrid.
Ronaldo currently has one year left on his United contract. According to recent reports, the Red Devils have informed Ronaldo that he must travel with them for their pre-season tour to Thailand and Australia. He didn't report to pre-season training on Monday owing to personal reasons.
