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Atletico Madrid fans urge club not to sign Cristiano Ronaldo with online campaign

Published 10:06 25 Jul 2022 BST

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Ronaldo's attempts to leave Manchester United aren't going too well.

Cristiano Ronaldo's hopes of leaving Manchester United this summer appear to have taken yet another blow with Atletico Madrid fans launching a social media campaign to express their opposition to his potential arrival. It became clear earlier this month that Ronaldo - not even a year on from sealing his return to Old Trafford - wanted to leave United after they failed to secure Champions League football for the coming season.

Lack of interest in Ronaldo

Unfortunately for the 37-year-old, it's since transpired that there appears to be a dearth of clubs willing to take him. New Chelsea owner Todd Boehly was said to be open to bringing him to Stamford Bridge, though hopes of a move to London were dashed when manager Thomas Tuchel reportedly told the American he was not interested in adding him to his ranks. A transfer to Bayern Munich also seemed possible with the departure of Robert Lewandowski to Barcelona, though the Bundesliga champions have also ruled out a move for him.

Some Atleti fans against a potential move

Atletico Madrid, meanwhile, do seem interested. Diego Simeone is said to be keen to add Ronaldo to his squad, with some reports claiming the club were even willing to sell Antoine Griezmann to free up funds. Some Atleti supporters, meanwhile, appear less enthusiastic about the idea. Ronaldo spent nine years with their arch-rivals Real Madrid, leaving in 2018. During his time there, he became their all-time leading goalscorer and helped them to four Champions League titles - twice beating Atleti in the final.

His association with Los Blancos has seen many Atleti fans call for the club to abandon their pursuit. Many have taken to Twitter to demand the club drop any attempts to sign him, using the hashtag #ContraCR7 (AgainstCR7). 'Just thinking that such a guy wears the Atleti shirt makes me sick to my stomach,' one of the tweets using the hashtag read. 'It goes against everything it means to be from Atleti.' Ronaldo was given permission to miss United's pre-season tour of Thailand and Australia due to family reasons. He has since been pictured training in Lisbon. It remains unclear when he is expected to report back for training with United should a move elsewhere fail to materialise.