Shock club ‘will try’ to land ex-Man Utd striker Cristiano Ronaldo as president confirms plans

Portuguesa president Alex Bourgeois has revealed that the club “will try” to sign former Man Utd superstar Cristiano Ronaldo in 2026.

Ronaldo, who currently plays for Al Nassr in the Saudi Pro League, won numerous trophies with Man Utd, Real Madrid and Juventus before choosing to leave Europe in 2022.

The Portugal legend has scored 790 goals in 1,051 club career appearances and will go down as one of the best players to have ever lived.

Ronaldo left Manchester United in controversial circumstances at the end of 2022 during his second spell at the Premier League club with Erik ten Hag allowing him to leave and join Saudi Arabian side Al Nassr.

The Al-Nassr star recently declared himself the “most complete player to have existed” in an interview with friend Edu Aguirre.

Ronaldo said: “I’m talking about numbers. I think I’m the most complete player to have existed. In my opinion, I think it’s me. I do everything well in football: with my head, free kicks, left foot. I’m fast, I’m strong.

“One thing is taste — if you like Messi, Pelé, Maradona, I understand that and I respect that — but saying Ronaldo isn’t complete … I’m the most complete. I haven’t seen anybody better than me, and I say it from the heart.”

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And now Portuguesa president Bourgeois has explained that he wants to try and persuade the self-proclaimed “most complete player to have existed” to join the Brazilian Paulista A1 side.

Speaking to CNN, Bourgeois explained: “Reinforcement and rescue the pride of the Portuguese community here in Brazil, yes, that was exactly it (the attempt to sign Nani).

“We are behind and we will try for 2026, for the 2026 Paulistão, to bring in a great Portuguese.

“He’s the greatest Portuguese of all time, he’s the greatest personality in the world today.

“It would be great, but I can imagine how many people don’t offer anything related to Portugal to Cristiano Ronaldo, right?

“But it’s obvious that he’s a great Portuguese, and obviously, at some point, we’re going to have to try to talk.”

Bourgeois further outlined the club’s long-term vision: “What we need, which is part of our strategic plan, is to create a bridge between Brazil and Portugal through Portuguesa, for Portuguesa to be this channel.

“We are already making some progress in this direction. We believe that this will bring many people from this community of 25 million closer to us.

“There are many things in Portugal, besides Portuguese football, for which Brazilians go there, whether it be for wine, food, religion, beaches, etc.

“So, what we want is to bring all of this to the closest place here in Brazil to create this bridge” he added.