Real Madrid Transfer News: Cristiano Ronaldo Urged to Join PSG by Pauleta

Retired Portuguese international Pauleta has urged former club Paris Saint-Germain to break the bank to buy Cristiano Ronaldo as they challenge to win the big prizes in European football.

The former PSG goalscoring hero told RTL (h/t Marca) the Parisian club "deserve" to have the mercurial forward in their starting XI, and they should do what it takes to bring him to the French capital.

He also suggested the team should tempt former Los Blancos boss Jose Mourinho to move to the Parc des Princes: "PSG would be a good team for him, to spend two or three seasons there. PSG deserve to have a player of his quality. It would also be fantastic for the Portuguese that live in Paris. Cristiano Ronaldo or Ibra? I'd take Ronaldo, he's my country's captain. It would be a great idea to bring in Jose Mourinho."

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Pauleta featured many times for Portugal with the young CR7, playing in attack together for three years until the former striker's international retirement.

The noise regarding a potential Bernabeu exit for Ronaldo never seems to die down, despite the player continuing to score goals for the Galacticos at a startling rate. 

Bleacher Report UK recently highlighted the player's extraordinary form in the white shirt of Madrid:

Sunday Telegraph football correspondent Jason Burt confirmed in the summer that PSG would like to sign the Ballon d'Or holder, but any move would depend on the French champions offloading Zlatan Ibrahimovic, and navigating their way around the constraints of Financial Fair Play.

But with Ibrahimovic tipped to join the MLS by football website TuttoMercatoWeb.com (h/t MLSSoccer.com,) PSG could soon be ready to sign a world-class superstar to replace the goals provided by the prolific Swede. 

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Burt believes PSG would appeal to Ronaldo, with the French capital being one of the most desirable cities in the world to live: 

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Would Real sell? Would he go to PSG? Again the indications are that, yes, they might, and, yes, he could. PSG certainly has the growing world-wide profile that would appeal to Ronaldo who also knows he would be indisputably the biggest star at the club. Paris as a city would appeal to him, also. There is even a big Portuguese community in the French capital. And he would be loved by the club’s wealthy Qatari owners.

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Sky Sports pundit Guillem Balague also believes there are plans for Ronaldo to leave Los Blancos at the end of the campaign, with Madrid in the process of thinking about life without their record goalscorer:

Ronaldo is now the wrong side of 30, and football clubs naturally get itchy feet once their prized talents begin to age. The player would still command an extraordinary fee if president Florentino Perez decides it is time to cash in, but the number of potential buyers is currently small considering the finance involved. 

Much depends on Real's fortunes under new coach Rafael Benitez, with the Spaniard already showing signs he will play his natural style of defensive football as manager. 

This is unlikely to please Ronaldo and his attacking team-mates, and could trigger an exodus if Perez backs the manager over the central playing figures in the dressing room. 

PSG are one of the richest teams in the world, and they are one club who can lay the cash on the table to tempt Madrid into doing the unthinkable.