Chelsea snub chance to sign Ronaldo with Man Utd star running out of options

Cristiano Ronaldo is set to remain a Manchester United player this season with Chelsea the latest club to decide against signing him.

The unhappy Portugal superstar, 37, was offered to new Blues co-owner Todd Boehly by his agent Jorge Mendes last month but the FA Cup finalists have decided against the move as they rebuild ahead of the new campaign.

Ronaldo does have interest from Saudi Arabia where an unnamed club is understood to be willing to offer him a two-year deal worth £105million a year. But Chelsea are prioritising defenders after welcoming England winger Raheem Sterling in a £47.5million coup on Wednesday.

Napoli centre-back Kalidou Koulibaly will arrive next this weekend while Blues boss Thomas Tuchel is also closing in on Manchester City defender Nathan Ake and classy PSG centre-back Presnel Kimpembe.

It leaves Ronaldo, who quit Juventus last year, running out of options to stay in Europe with most of the football's biggest clubs already passing up the chance to land him.

Bayern Munich were the most recent before Chelsea - despite the imminent departure of Robert Lewandowski. The German champions' President of their Board of Directors, Oliver Khan, said last weekend: "As much as I appreciate Cristiano Ronaldo as one of the greatest, a move would not fit into our philosophy."

French champions Paris St Germain had already ruled themselves out of the chance to pair the ex-Real Madrid star with his old former Barcelona rival Lionel Messi.

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Barca have Lewandowski as their prime target with Chelsea retaining an interest in the Polish international marksman. And PSG are prioritising Reims striker Hugo Ekitike and have already had a £25million bid rejected for the 20-year-old.

Ronaldo is known to be unhappy at Old Trafford following the Reds' failure to clinch Champions League football last season. Under new boss Erik ten Hag the club are also struggling to attract some of their prime targets with Ajax defender Jurrien Timber deciding to stay with the Dutch champions and Frenkie de Jong's agents insistent that the midfielder wants to remain at Barcelona.

Ronaldo's one lifeline could be the Italian Champions AC Milan with their 40-year-old striker, superstar Zlatan Ibrahimovic, facing a year out after knee surgery. But the Italians have just signed Divock Origi from Liverpool on a free transfer with the promise of regular first-team football.