Juventus to swap Cristiano Ronaldo for Kylian Mbappe on world record £360 million deal: Transfer rumours

Cristiano Ronaldo is never out of the news. Earlier this week, he made headlines after testing positive for the novel coronavirus disease. Now, reports are coming in that Juventus is preparing a swap deal that could land Kylian Mbappe at Turin on a world-record deal worth £360 million. In exchange, of course, the Italian side is ready to trade Ronaldo.

The defending Serie A champions might just sacrifice Ronaldo for the sake of signing the Paris Saint-Germain star. Reports also claim that Juventus doesn't have the financial resources to keep both players under the same roof. At this moment, it seems practical that they would choose the 2018 World Cup-winning Frenchman over the Portuguese.

After all, age is on Mbappe's side. If Juve signs the 21-year old on a long-term deal, the Serie A side would be entitled to get at least 10 years of service from the talented forward. On the other hand, Ronaldo's contract expires in 2022. By that time, the Portuguese behemoth would be 37 years old.

Although Ronaldo is in terrific form right now, it is unsure whether he could continue playing at the same level over the next five years. Even the greatest optimists won't bet in favour of the Portugal captain playing football until he's 40 years old.

At this moment, Juve will be looking into the future. They want a young team that will give them longer mileage. The financial aspect of the game is also something that Juve's management would consider.

When the pandemic hit Europe and football was halted, Juventus and most other clubs experienced financial distress. They had to ask their players to accept a pay cut, which almost every club in Europe did. Now, even after accepting a wage-cut, Ronaldo's salary will be a bit overwhelming for the Bianconeri.

That might prompt Andrea Pirlo's side to trade Ronaldo in any deal in order to bring the World Cup winner to Turin. However, it still isn't clear if PSG will agree to lose one of its top young players, that too, in exchange for someone who is in the later stage of his career.

Ronaldo was previously linked with the Ligue 1 side, but nothing concrete was established. According to The Sun, Ronaldo's agent Jorge Mendes had met Paris Saint-Germain's sporting director Leonardo Araújo in a bid to finalise the deal earlier this year. However, no fruitful decision could be made so far.