All doors on Cristiano Ronaldo’s exit seem to be closing. The Manchester United forward has been angling for a move since the end of last season, even skipping the club’s pre-season tour to Australia. With ambitions of playing in the Champions League, the 37-year-old wishes to join a club that can offer him the same. To this effect, he refused a $275 million deal with an unnamed Saudi Arabian club. However, he has faced rejection from Bundesliga’s Bayern Munich and fellow Premier League outfit, Chelsea. Rumours suggest Atletico Madrid may be interested in Ronaldo, but it seems unlikely, especially after captain Koke’s shot down this suggestion.

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Speaking after their friendly against Numancia, Koke’s words will come as a dagger to the Portuguese. The midfielder pointed out that there had been no talk in the dressing room regarding CR7, insisting instead on the strength and variety of strikers at the club’s disposal.

“There is no talk of Cristiano Ronaldo in the dressing room. My teammates are great players. We have strikers from Argentina, Brazil, some from Portugal, France and Spain. Great players who can do great things. I trust them all,” quotes Manchester Evening News.

Talk of the Colchoneros eyeing Ronaldo has angered the club’s fan base. During their 4-0 rout of Numancia, the travelling Atletico supporters unfurled a banner reading ‘CR7 not welcome’.

If this wasn’t enough, the club’s fan group ‘The Union Internacional de Penas Atletico de Madrid’ released a statement against Ronaldo’s acquisition on their Twitter handle. The translated text reads:

“In light of the possibility that signing Cristiano Ronaldo is more than a simple rumour without basis, we express our absolute rejection of his hypothetical joining of our club. The aforementioned player represents the antithesis of the values that constitute the foundation of our Atleti, such as the effort, generosity, modesty and humility of those who want to defend our values.”

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Unsurprisingly, Atletico Madrid fans and players do not want Ronaldo in the mix. His legendary status at bitter cross-town rivals Real Madrid automatically makes him persona-non-grata at the Metropolitano. Further, the bad blood from Atletico’s 2019 Champions League skirmish against a Ronaldo-inspired Juventus still rankles.

After losing 2-0 in the first leg, the Portuguese, unimpressed with the home side, shot back with an “I won five Champions Leagues and these guys zero.” He would score a hattrick in Turin to dump his old foes out of Europe, throwing Diego Simeone’s ‘huevos’ celebration back at him and his wards.