Chelsea were blocked from signing Cristiano Ronaldo by Thomas Tuchel, report says

Todd Boehly explored the possibility of bringing Cristiano Ronaldo to Chelsea during the Portuguese forward’s second spell at Manchester United, before Ronaldo moved to Al Nassr, according to The Athletic.

Boehly reportedly met Ronaldo’s agent, Jorge Mendes, in Portugal during that period. The meeting left Chelsea’s then-owner highly interested in pursuing a deal for the former Real Madrid and Manchester United forward.

Ronaldo was unhappy during his second stint at Manchester United, but Thomas Tuchel, who was Chelsea manager at the time, made clear on several occasions that he was strongly opposed to the club signing the Portugal international.

The disagreement over Ronaldo was part of wider tensions between Boehly and Tuchel. Those tensions increased after Chelsea failed to complete moves for Matthijs de Ligt, Raphinha, Frenkie de Jong and Presnel Kimpembe.

There was greater agreement over the signing of Raheem Sterling, with Boehly personally leading negotiations to bring the England international from Manchester City. The deal was worth £47.5m.

Boehly later acknowledged that his approach to recruitment had not been sufficiently scientific. Speaking at an event in February, he said he had been placed in the position of interim sporting director during the summer without having a clear understanding of what made a footballer good.

“I found myself stuck in the interim sporting director role during the summer, without knowing what makes a footballer good. But I knew that if Manchester City wanted Marc Cucurella, then I wanted him. It was as simple as that,” Boehly said.

Boehly stepped down from his role as Chelsea’s interim sporting director in January 2023.