Kevin Pietersen launches appeal to Chelsea as Cristiano Ronaldo's future hangs in air

Former England cricketer Kevin Pietersen wants Chelsea to sign Cristiano Ronaldo for the upcoming Premier League season amid his uncertain future at Manchester United. Cristiano Ronaldo's transfer is currently a huge topic of discussion and Pietersen wants the club he supports to try and bring the world's best player to Stamford Bridge. 

Cristiano Ronaldo transfer: Kevin Pietersen message for Chelsea

The 37-year-old footballer had shocked everyone by putting a transfer request after just one season with the Old Trafford club. Taking to Twitter, Kevin Pietersen wrote: "Sign @Cristiano please @ChelseaFC.

For the very time in such a decorated career, Cristiano Ronaldo seems to be have been turned down by elite European Clubs. The likes of Chelsea, Bayern Munich, Barcelona and Paris Saint-Germain have decided against signing the Portuguese star. Earlier there were reports about Chelsea co-owner Todd Boehly having held talks with Ronaldo's agent, Jorge Mendes over his potential transfer.

According to a Skysports report, Chelsea manager Thomas Tuchel had earlier said, "I would not rule it out [signing another striker] but right now it is not the priority", after roping in Raheem Sterling from Manchester City. The German coach further said, "The priority right now is defence, it's not a secret. From there we need to see what's possible."

Cristiano Ronaldo to return back to Manchester United 

After completing his extended break given by the club, Cristiano Ronaldo is set to make his return to Manchester United amid transfer speculation. Ronaldo had missed Manchester United's pre-season tour of Thailand and Australia and reports suggest that Manchester United manager, Erik ten Hag is set to have a meeting with the former Real Madrid forward. 

According to The Athletic, Manchester United's stance remains that Ronaldo is 'not for sale' and he will be an important part of their squad in the 2022-23 campaign. It is unclear at this stage if he will train with United on Tuesday.

Manchester United will take on Rayo Vallecano on July 31 in their final pre-season match and Ronaldo could play in the match with the transfer talks unlikely to be resolved before August. In Ronaldo's absence, Manchester United had a good pre-season tour of Asia and Australia, scoring 11 goals and registering victories over Liverpool, Melbourne Victory and Crystal Palace.