Borussia Dortmund’s managing director Carsten Cramer has revealed that Cristiano Ronaldo was never a transfer target for the team as he says the German club does not value ‘social media followers”.
The Bundesliga team was linked with the Portuguese soccer legend multiple times including when he was released by Manchester United and available for a free transfer in November of 2022. However, no one from Dortmund even entertained the prospect of signing the superstar as Dortmund’s transfer policy is more oriented towards what a player can give on the pitch, rather than past experience or fame off the pitch.
Borussia Dortmund’s managing director Carsten Cramer has told German news outlet kicker when asked about whether Ronaldo was ever a possibility of joining the Yellow and Black, “Basically, the value of Borussia Dortmund does not depend on social media followers. We are a football club, that’s the key. We can have the best ideas in marketing, but if we lose 3-0 at home to Freiburg, it doesn’t work. Even with the best brand presentation, the be-all and end-all is the product.”
If Ronaldo had indeed joined the German club, Dortmund would have had to bring in serious money for him, which includes huge sponsorship deals to pay his wages. Ronaldo boasts 549 million followers on Instagram, 108 million followers on Twitter, and 161 million followers on Facebook.
This makes Ronaldo the most followed person on social media and each of his posts bring him millions of dollars in income. Dortmund and German clubs in general are not used to spending this much money on a player and they don’t build the club to be a brand. The premier focus is on building a sustainable team on the pitch and thus Ronaldo to Dortmund never would have happened.
As no European club signed Ronaldo, he joined Saudi Pro League side Al Nassr. Since he has scored five goals and two assists in his last three games, including a sensational poker in one match.
