Paris Saint-Germain director of football Leonardo has denied that the club has made a bid for Real Madrid star Cristiano Ronaldo.
Ronaldo has been the source of consistent speculation throughout the season linking him with a move away from Santiago Bernabeu after stating that he was unhappy earlier in the campaign. Further fueling the rumor mill is the fact that the 28-year-old is yet to extend his contract beyond its current expiration in the summer of 2015.
PSG, with their billionaire Qatari owners, are one of the few clubs that could afford what would surely be a massive transfer fee and huge wages for one of the world's leading players. Having reached the quarterfinal of the Champions League this campaign, it is likely that the Ligue 1 leaders will be looking to push on further with their project in the next season.
But Leonardo has dismissed talk that they are already lining up Ronaldo's arrival this summer, as well as playing down reported interest in Manchester United forward Wayne Rooney and Napoli's Edinson Cavani.
"On Ronaldo, there has never been an offer," he said, according to ESPN. "I've never heard anything about [Wayne] Rooney or [Edinson] Cavani either. I do not rule out big signings, but only if there is a suitable opportunity."
Manchester United have also been linked with a bid to re-sign the player they sold for a still record fee of £80 million back in 2009. There is still plenty of affection between the player and key figures at the club.
While the finances involved make a move unlikely, there have been reports that United could arrange a deal that is in part financed by sponsors. A potential sale of Rooney would also help raise funds.
"We do want a larger squad with adequate cover in all areas in order to avoid the sort of problems we had in January in midfield with all the injuries and suspensions," he added.
Last summer PSG -- unsurprisingly given Leonardo and manager Carlo Ancelotti's previous experience -- recruited strongly from Italy as the likes of Zlatan Ibrahimovic, Thiago Silva (both Milan, Ezequiel Lavezzi (Napoli), Thiago Motta (Inter Milan) and Marco Verratti (Pescara) all arrived. In the next transfer window, former Milan and Inter Milan coach Leonardo suggested he could sign more French talent.
"The idea of seeing the great French players here is something I like," he said. "I'm not necessarily talking about [Karim] Benzema, but maybe [Samir] Nasri, [Franck] Ribery, or [Yohan] Cabaye.
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