Atletico Madrid president: Signing Cristiano Ronaldo this summer is 'practically impossible'

CBS Sports' Ben Jacobs raised eyebrows last week when he reported that Jorge Mendes, the agent for superstar Cristiano Ronaldo, had informed would-be buyers that Ronaldo is willing to "take a significant pay cut, potentially as high as 30%" to leave Manchester United this summer so he can join a club that will participate in the upcoming season's UEFA Champions League competition. 

Ronaldo has repeatedly been linked in transfer rumors with Atletico Madrid, but Jacobs added at that time that "Atleti sources reiterate that the club are simply not in a financial position" to complete such a move. It appears that's still the case as of the final Tuesday of July. 

Per CBS Sports' Fabrizio Romano and Michael Hincks of Eurosport, Atletico Madrid president Enrique Cerezo explained during an appearance on the "El Partidazo de COPE" radio program that Atleti aren't pursuing Ronaldo regardless of any stories suggesting otherwise. 

"I don’t know who invented this story about Cristiano Ronaldo to Atletico Madrid. It’s definitely not true," Cerezo said. "It’s practically impossible for him to come to Atletico Madrid." 

Ronaldo remained away from United for their preseason tour of Thailand and Australia because of a reported legitimate "family issue" but returned to the club's training ground, along with his agent, on Tuesday for talks with manager Erik ten Hag. Ten Hag has repeatedly said that Ronaldo isn't for sale, but ESPN notes that sources claim "United would be open to offloading Ronaldo if a club outside the Premier League was prepared to take on the final 12 months of his £500,000-a-week contract." 

Along with Atletico Madrid, it's been reported that Real Madrid, Barcelona, Chelsea, Bayern Munich, Paris Saint-Germain and Napoli have rejected chances to sign Ronaldo. The 37-year-old tallied 24 goals across all competitions for United last season.