Word stemming from the Spanish media on Monday evening suggests that Barcelona have positioned themselves in the ongoing race to sign Cristiano Ronaldo.

The news which Manchester United supporters across the globe were no doubt dreading was of course forthcoming over the weekend.

This came in the form of confirmation that star attacker Ronaldo had informed the powers that be at Old Trafford of his desire to depart, should a suitable offer for his services be tabled.

The 37-year-old is understood to be keen to avoid a season plying his trade outside of the Champions League so late in his illustrious career, having been left understandably underwhelmed by developments on the red half of Manchester since his return 12 months ago.

Where, though, could Ronaldo realistically end up?

To this point, three clubs have been most heavily pushed as potential landing spots for the Portuguese icon, in form of Chelsea, Napoli and the aforementioned Bayern Munich.

But, as alluded to above, on Monday, another of the continent’s heavyweights are understood to have entered the fray.

The outfit in question? FC Barcelona.

As per a report from Manu Sainz of Spanish outlet Diario AS, this evening, Jorge Mendes, Ronaldo’s representative, held a meeting with Barca president Joan Laporta.

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BARCELONA, SPAIN – MARCH 07: Joan Laporta celebrates during a press conference following his victory in the FC Barcelona President Elections at Camp Nou on March 07, 2021 in Barcelona, Spain. (Photo by David Ramos/Getty Images)

This came with the latter keen to discuss the futures of a number of Mendes’ clients, including all of Ruben Neves, Rafael Leao, Bernardo Silva and, lastly Ronaldo.

Laporta is understood to have been keen to lure Ronaldo to the Camp Nou last summer, only to see the club’s financial issues put an end to such hopes.

This time round, though, the Spanish patron is readying a fresh assault, with a view to the 2022/23 campaign.

This of course comes with the Blaugrana having been left frustrated by the hefty demands of German champions Bayern Munich, in their bid to land first-choice attacking target Robert Lewandowski.

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