HOT FOOTBALL GOSSIP: Ronaldo turns his back on Man Utd ‘to make PSG promise’

Manchester United and Cristiano Ronaldo have been through a lot since he joined the club 12 years ago as a spotty teenager with a silly earring, but the latest CR7-related transfer revelations in the Sun consign that relationship to the dustbin. In the realisation of every United fan’s worst nightmare, Ronaldo is turning his back on the good times they shared and ditching them for a team with a bigger package.

A bigger financial package, that is, which could only be Paris Saint-Germain, a club with whom Ronaldo has no history, but who can offer him a far more satisfying salary. The Sun claims that Ronaldo has told PSG they are the only club he will join if he leaves Real Madrid.

“He wants to live in France, he likes Laurent Blanc, he has a great relationship with Nasser Al-Khelaifi, the club president and he knows life in Paris will simply be sensational for him,” says the Sun’s “top PSG source”, although this is probably a French tourist they interviewed in Piccadilly Circus over the weekend, so United fans needn’t be too concerned.

They should be more worried about the things Swiss media have saying about the club, namely that they are interested in signing 30-year-old former West Brom midfielder Borja Valero. According to the Swiss newspaper Blick, the Fiorentina player was watched during this week’s Europa League match against Basel by a man wearing a “black jacket, a beige scarf and glasses”, who it identifies as United’s “chief scout” Peter Braund. It does sound like him, to be fair.

Along with Valero, who is actually quite a good player even if United fans might not be very excited about him, the beige scarf-wearing gentleman was also apparently having a look at Basel wonderkid Breel Embolo. Either that or he was just a normal geezer wondering why a load of Swiss journalists were staring at him.

Moving into the south of Europe, Spanish rumourmongers Fichajes have predicted for the umpteenth time that Arsenal will make a January bid for Celta Vigo striker Nolito, who would prefer to sign for Barcelona. Disappointingly, they give no descriptions of the neckwear favoured by Arsenal scouts.

The rest of today’s gossip is all about managers, rather than players. In summary, Carlo Ancelotti might be replacing Pep Guardiola at Bayern Munich, QPR are on the verge of appointing Jimmy Floyd Hasselbaink, Harry Redknapp could become Newcastle’s new boss and - best of all - Phil Neville is about to be put in charge of La Liga club Valencia. Wonder if he’ll ask his old mate David Moyes for some tips.

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