Last summer, Bayern Munich were regularly in the news for rejecting the advances of Cristiano Ronaldo and his agent, Jorge Mendes. It was quite the story to follow. The media could not help but talk about the chaos at Manchester United following the arrival of Erik ten Hag, and CR7’s desperate attempts to leave the club after only just arriving in the summer of 2021.

Why did Bayern Munich get involved in this story? Well, with the departure of Robert Lewandowski to FC Barcelona, outsiders pinged the German giants as the perfect destination for CR7 and his legion of fanboys. People were convinced that Bayern and Ronaldo were a match made in heaven, and a deal would be worked out in time.

That did not happen.

Repeat that same statement ad-nauseam for the entire summer, by every Bayern executive (including Kahn and Hainer) and the coach as well. Bayern were the only club to reject Ronaldo so publicly, but it was taken as a sign that “CR7” was no longer the coveted superstar that he had once been.

In the end, the Cristiano Ronaldo was forced to stay at Man United.

Who saw it coming?

Bayern’s rejections were met with mixed opinions at the time. Some saw it as a missed opportunity to grab a proven goalscorer with a massive international fanbase. It was argued that, with the loss of Lewandowski, Bayern needed a proper striker with Champions League pedigree. Others pointed to the massive commercial benefits for Bayern and the Bundesliga as a whole, after losing two superstars in Lewy and Haaland in the same summer.

However, some groups — mainly fans of Juventus and Man United — showed more understanding to the decision made by the club bosses.